Buy Light Her Up here (Amazon UK)
Previous reviews of Todd Carey songs:I'd pretty much gotten used to singer-songwriter Todd Carey releasing one excellent song per year (more or less). So smitten was I with the way he bought emotions to life and wrapped them in joyous, buoyant melodies and vibrant instrumentals that, although I craved more, I was at peace with his quality over quantity approach to music release. And whether by plan or just pure circumstance, it worked - first would come the teaser. Then the actual song. Then an alternative version to unearth nuanced new elements to the lyrics and tune. Then a video to hook you in all over again. And because the songs he crafts are so beautifully, ridiculously, deliciously, incessantly catchy and addictive, you end up loving each new facet of the music that the campaign brings. I can honestly say that Nintendo and OMG are songs I still turn to when I need a little pick me up in this oft-gloomy and depressing, crazy world we live in. So colour me super surprised that, while I am still revelling in the glorious refrain of Ready, Todd has a second single out in two months - and Light Her Up continues to demonstrate that this is a person striving to better himself with each successive release; also it's worth noting at this point that Todd is the ultimate student-become-master of pop music. He's clearly studied what makes classic songs so enduring and worked with that knowledge to create these three minute wonders that are part history repeating (in the best possible way) and part contemporary pop as it should sound today.
The origins of Light Her Up are rooted in Todd's live sets - and while I'm living for the day he brings his show to the UK, you can catch early versions of the song on YouTube from up to two years ago. Over time, he's refined the sound for the studio recording but retained all the charm and the exuberance that made the live performances so engaging. It seems right that Todd has deviated from his elongated release strategy and has capitalised on the deafening buzz that Ready has. Both songs are strong enough to stand side by side and each get equal attention. You can read my thoughts on Ready above. Light Her Up is just as much a treat as that song still is. The narrative sees Todd talk about that feeling you get when that you find that one person who brings a little frisson of excitement, a slice of happiness and a portion of je ne sais quoi into your life. As he sings through these sentiments, he sounds positively giddy with the type of love-fueled delirium that sends tingles from your fingers to your toes and all the way back again. Todd's always had the ability to inject his songs with exactly the right level of personality and feeling that the lyrics require - he doesn't just sing, he performs it with style and panache. He's accompanied by a percolating groove that's so wonderfully uplifting with it's reggae infused rhythms that a) surely Ace of Base are on the phone right now asking him to pen their comeback album and b) it sends a dopamine rush to the brain so pleasurable that you need a minute or two to recover. Add to this the chorus that gets under your skin and into your brain within seconds and I'm flying past cloud nine (it's full of people still jubilating over Ready) to cloud ten and beyond. It's what dreamy sighs were invented for.
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