Making plans to go to the local coffee place never sounded so good. In AV Super Sunshine’s newest catchy tune, “Baby, Goodbye”, strolling with that special someone is half the fun in this trippy track. Drenched in glossy vocals and ideal rhythms, it doesn’t take much to want to go back for a second helping and say hello to “Baby, Goodbye”.
AV Super Sunshine continues his penchant for song hooks. When he sings the chorus, a breathy ‘baby, goodbye’ he caps off by with a satisfying high, as if he were done sipping the best coffee brew of his life. AV Super Sunshine’s voice is weathered, he’s got a lurking timbre in his voice that strangely enough makes him sound even more friendly and enduring. He sheds some of the mystery in “Baby Goodbye” in the lyrics compared to the April 2020 release “Smile” and shifts his energies into a more complete composition.
The addition of Nashville songstress, the extraordinary Ruby Amanfu, catapults “Baby Goodbye” from a so-so song to a remarkable hit. Her distinct, confident presence accentuates all the positives. When her voice blends against the quirky, electronic keyboard measures, it’s like Motown and 70s soul rebirthed. That, and the shape-shifting drum work of Brad Pemberton (on loan from Steve Earle & The Dukes) is substantially R&B fusing with pop rock. Every last drip is soaked up. As a listener, I struggled to decide if I enjoyed Amanfu’s vocals more than those of AV Super Sunshine. It changed by the hour.
“Let’s go downtown, to the coffee shop,” AV Super Sunshine sings, casually. His guitar starts tearing it up, picking up steam. The bass guitar toddles alongside the keys and Pemberton’s pesky drums, creating a substantial wall-of-sound. I almost thought Iron Butterfly’s “In A Gadda Da Vida” (1968) was going to wind up mashing its way into the track, but I’m reminded that in the AV Super Sunshine’s EPK, he calls his music straight from 1975, staring at the sun, driving with the windows and top down, the radio cranked. He nails that description with all his music.
What stayed consistently for me, too, is AV Super Sunshine’s guitar playing. The tone in this song is frightfully fun – a mix of 70s funk and a mish-mosh of modern alternative rock. While listening to this song, I kept imagining this song on vinyl. There’s a natural tension between the guitar and the bass guitar that feels rough, like in a rough-in-tumble-way that fuels the retro sound. The electronic keys (organ) gels with this chaos and adds irons out the pulses, creating a psychedelic vibe. That always seems to be at the core of AV Super Sunshine’s sound, and longtime fans will not be disappointed by their regularity.
Fans of The Lemonheads, Jellyfish, Juliana Hatfield, David Bowie and Pink Floyd will appreciate the authenticity happening in AV Super Sunshine. They beat to their own drum in a very crowded indie music scene. The mellow meets modern toughness of “Baby Goodbye” is refreshing and illuminates AV Super Sunshine’s unique artistry.
Garth Thomas
The music of AV SUPER SUNSHINE has been heard all over the world in partnership with the radio plugging services offered by Musik and Film Radio Promotions Division. Learn more https://musikandfilm.com