Upon reflection, I’d be tempted to review Suns Up summer seeped pop tune ‘Just Because’ as a Five Seconds of Summer rip off, a piece of indie blasphemy. But there is no escaping the smile that spread across my face as the plucky opening chords and crashing cymbals sparkled through the speakers. It turns out that Suns Up have struck gold with their scintillating, refurbished indie pop sound, characterised beautifully by the band as, ‘music made with guitars to sing and dance to.’ Suddenly, I’m sold.
The Sussex four-piece have preceded ‘Just Because’ with two equally sun-kissed singles, ‘Stay’ and ‘Love You Back.’ The three singles all feature swift, catchy guitar led rhythms that fly off the track, paired with easy lyrics and breezy vocals. They sound dangerously similar but grouped together are bound to be better than any over the counter anti-depressant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ajfyXJ0SV74
‘Just Because’ is infectious from the opening beat. Its guitar driven motive is present from the outset, right through to the final trembling notes. Mild, apathetic vocals, the likes of which haven’t been matches since Vampire Weekend’s Ezra Koenig left us high and dry with Modern Vampires of the City in 2013, soar across the scoreboard after a vibrant opening few seconds. The 1975 esque guitar track never sits still, but the vocals rise in pace and vigour before the melody catches up, followed by an implorable guitar break. Sure to be prefaced with a ‘let’s dance’ in the live rendition, ‘Just Because’ creates a reverberating, intoxicating, dizzying rhythm of happiness.
Indie melodies and pop sensibilities collide on this cocktail of guitar hooks, gentle vocals, and frisky lyrics, to create a song that is your perfect tonic to a bad day.