In the early ’90s, several bands with female vocalists and ethereal, dreamy sounds achieved a bit of success in the mainstream pop world, most notably groups like Mazzy Star (“Fade into You”), Sixpence None the Richer (“Kiss Me”), and The Sundays (“Here’s Where the Story Ends”). For followers of this sound, names of other, less-known bands like Cranes, Cocteau Twins, and Slowdive might also come to mind, all of which had their own memorable take on this swirling atmospheric mood, and had a bit of exposure on MTV’s alternative music videos show 120 Minutes or on indie radio stations of the time.
This near “movement” of languorous pop resulted in some great music, a sliver of which still at times pops up on mainstream radio. But because most of the songs from this era – though shimmering and pretty – tended to be slow and downbeat, they’re not the kind of music that’s thought of for a first dance at a wedding, even by those looking for a song that’s a bit more unconventional.
“Sunshine Like You,” a song by a band with this ethereal sound called The Waterlillies, is a rare exception, however. The tune manages to sound both ethereal and happily upbeat at the same time. Featured on the 1992 album Envoluptuosity (cover pictured), the song is quite a deep obscurity – it never charted, never was a single, never had its own video, and likely had hardly any radio airplay when released. (I was listening to a lot of this music at the time, and I never heard it until long after the album hit the bargain bin at record stores.)
Surprisingly for a non-single and such an obscure song, two versions of “Sunshine Like You” were recorded (both you can hear below). The first, the album version, has a light, shuffling, dance club-ready backbeat throughout. The second version, called the “Limbless Mix,” was included as a track on the CD and 12″ single “Tired of You,” another song from Envoluptuosity. This alternate version of “Sunshine” strips away the backbeat and adds in some acoustic guitar, and may even be a more powerful version of the song. But they’re close; each version is worth hearing. (Neither version of this song is available on iTunes, though the album and single EP can usually be found on Amazon or eBay for only a few bucks each.)
It’s a shame “Sunshine Like You” went nowhere, because it’s the kind of song that probably could’ve done quite well, especially at the time. It’s accessible and bright, sweet but not too sweet, has a lovely melody, makes great use of a warm-sounding slide guitar, and has striking operatic vocals. The song takes the template of the aforementioned more successful dream-pop bands and turns it in a unique direction – yes, the song is quite lullaby-ish, but at the same time, it feels much more dramatic and sweeping than many other songs of this kind. What’s more, while the song has a dash of Gothic intensity, it never feels doomy or too icy. In making things sound at once familiar and different, and in being able to sidestep too much of one influence and instead balance many, for the approximately four minutes of this song this utterly forgotten group create a truly unique and enchanting mood.
While once or twice the lyrics concerning the singer’s desire for her object of affection veer into the overwrought territory of a 14-year-old girl’s diary entry, because the lyrics are often lushly overlayed with others – and because the song creates such an authority with its mood – this doesn’t break the spell of the song. Even the chorus, which in a different combination of musical ingredients might sound treacly, manages to make its sweetness work more than it should: “In my sky / of yellow and blue / though heaven’s the weather / there’s no sunshine like you / A sun worshipper / what more can I do / I’d climb Everest / ’cause there’s no sunshine like you.” Toward the end of the tune, the vocalist even manages to deliver the rather unwieldy lyrics, “You’re the center / around which / my world turns,” with ease and elegance. And, after this, she then repeats the words “you’re the center” twice at the end of the song to perfectly distill her emotion – and I’d say the spirit of a first dance as well – to its essence.
Ultimately, though, “Sunshine Like You” works best at portraying a feeling – the epic, intense, myopic, overcome-by-romantic-love rush almost all of us have had for someone at some time. We might know these feelings are a bit overdramatic when they calm, but when they burn bright, this sweet little dreamscape of a song is one that captures them perfectly.
The Waterlillies – Sunshine Like You
The Waterlillies – Sunshine Like You (Limbless Mix)
Indie Music, Indie Rock & Pop First Dance Songs, Indie Wedding Music, Off the Beaten Track Wedding Songs, Synthpop, Weddings
August 23, 2010 at 10:55 pm
I love this original song selection, thank you for sharing.