Sussex fondly recall the glories of a sunny summer day on their nostalgically glowing new single Shine Down Every Day — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
There are tranquil pieces of music that bring back memories of a gentler time with simple, solid musicianship and pristine laid-back vocals. Quebec folk duo Sussex have gone to that well wonderfully with this peaceful track from their latest album Shine. It’s a song vocalist and guitarist Rob Lutes says resembles a “modern-day Tin Pan Alley song” — inspired by a classic one.
Lutes says the 1908 song Shine On Harvest Moon was the catalyst for Shine Down Every Day. The vaudeville duo of Nora Bayes and Jack Norworth — the latter also penned Take Me Out To The Ballgame — saw their song covered repeatedly over the decades. Even Canadian Leon Redbone covered it on his 1977 Double Time album. (Coincidentally, both Redbone and Lutes learned fingerstyle guitar from Mose Scarlett in Toronto.)
While playing the vintage tune almost obsessively at his home in Pointe-Claire, Lutes reflected on his younger children “out playing there under the big willow tree when they were small.” That feeling, combined with the old song, melded into “this new (but sounding kind of old) melody,” resulting in Shine Down Every Day. “I love exploring the arc of American (and Canadian) music history, and sometimes it bleeds into my own songs,” Lutes says.
Although structurally and melodically different than its inspiration, Shine Down Every Day contains “the spirit of the tune and a hint of that glorious time in American music, the early 20th century, with some naivete and simple wisdom,” according to Lutes. His words paint a memory of yesteryear as pianist/vibraphonist Michael Emenau adds delicious accents. Guests include pedal steel guitarist Joe Grass and upright bass player Morgan Moore, who give it a serene, cozy, campfire-esque vibe.
The single is from Sussex’s latest album Shine, the followup to 2019’s The Ocean Wide and 2015’s Parade Day. Check out Shine Down Every Day above, sample the Shine album below, and visit Sussex on their website, Facebook and Instagram.
