Summershine

Description

Summershine is the ninth and final full-length studio album by the American folk-rock/alt-country combo Vigilantes of Love fronted by singer-songwriter Bill Mallonee, released on Compass Records in August 2001.

Athens, Ga.-based Vigilantes of Love continues its prolific journey with a baker’s dozen of new tunes. The disc, while adorned with familiar stuff (i.e. frontman/vocalist Bill Mallonee’s baritone twang and the band’s habitual, midtempo pace), offers a newly flavored rootsyness that borrows R.E.M.’s jangle, The Byrds’ harmonies and The Beatles’ pop structures.

It’s a welcome break. Vigilantes is an exceptional band with one of the best lyricists around, but the guys have tended toward aural homogeneity of late. Summershine, full of Brit pop sensibilities that Mallonee soaked up during his recent jaunts along the U.K. pub circuit, is just the pit stop the fellas needed.

The opener, «You Know That», smartly encapsulates the band’s left turn. Full of chiming, multi-layered guitars that would have fit like a glove on R.E.M.’s Murmur or Reckoning, as well as three-part harmonies that’d make Roger McGuinn, David Crosby and Chris Hillman grin, Vigilantes of Love sounds like a rejuvenated outfit.

Despite the fact that «Stand Beside Me» sounds a bit like VOL revamping The Beatles’ «Good Day Sunshine» (right down to the Ringo-styled snare drum fill), Mallonee conjures up more clouds here than Paul would have liked: “Slight of hand, angry words/ And the arguments that don’t get heard/ I’m so smitten and attached/ With my paper dreams you strike the match.”

Indeed, the bright-hued album title only tells part of the story. Mallonee manages a skillful dichotomy, fashioning music that’s decidedly amiable with lyrics that weave doubt along the same seam as assurance. A good example is found on the joyfully raucous «Puttin’ Out Fires»: “It’s a Disney World trailer park from here to kingdom come/ When every moment is a red light; a red light you just run.”

While Summershine isn’t exactly a turning point (the band’s been doing just fine), the record shows there are more influences up Vigilantes’ sleeve than Bob Dylan. [Dave Urbanski, CCM, October 2001]

Christendom’s most intelligent and intuitive bands, America’s Vigilantes Of Love were recently featured in our alt country piece but on this set they let go of the Americana influences for a sound which happilly explores their British pop influences. On ‘Summershine’ Bill Malonee’s distinctive, crisp voice sings out over the raw, passionate melodies that have become VOL’s trademark. Widely respected in the mainstream, VOL are a band with a difference. Refusing to be pigeon-holed by the CCM mafia, they defy convention by writing songs that other bands haven’t even conceived yet. The opening track, «You Know That», sets the scene with a jaunty, jangly opening. Standouts include the quirky «I Could Be Wrong (But I Don’t Think I Am)» and the punchy «Stand Beside Me (You’ve Got To)». If you’re looking for obvious spiritual content, you’d be hard pressed to find it here. But that is no criticism. VOL are a band who are happy to write songs without constantly striving to preach in every line without actually compromising who they are as Christians. The wonderfully titled «Happy Being Lonely, Lonely Being Happy» starts with a soft acoustic guitar sound, then adds a layer of drums, all topped off with Mallonee’s unmistakable vocals. Intelligent, poetic and often esoteric, VOL have produced another gem. [Pippa Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, November 2001]

Sometimes you hear a record that makes you lose your objectivity. As a critic, you think “I can’t just rave about a record without finding something wrong with it!”

Summershine, the latest gem from Vigilantes of Love, made me work awfully hard to find anything negative. In fact, I would say this album insures that I will deliver my annual rant to anyone who will listen, along the lines of: “VoL is the best band in the country that no one has ever heard of. Why won’t radio play these guys?”

«You Know That (Is Nothing New)» opens the album with a Dire Straits meets Gin Blossom style, and sounds like a hit single on any “adult alternative” or college station. «She Is Fading» details a chance meeting at a carnival or like event, and sums up the essence of what it’s like to be young and looking for love in the summertime. «Fading» is the song R.E.M. should have recorded on their latest release.

«I Could Be Wrong (But I Don’t Think I Am)» bears a strong resemblance to the Tom Petty song «Feel A Whole Lot Better», and details a man trying to understand where his relationship is headed:

What you keep telling me just keeps me guessing
but those green eyes leave a different impression
Sometimes your heart, well, it won’t follow the plan
I could be wrong, I could be wrong, I could be wrong
But I don’t think I am.
Sometimes with words, you gotta look right through
Sometimes the opposite is true.

«Stand Beside Me (You’ve Got To)» is a cross between Americana and British pop. It serves as a perfect example of Bill Mallonee’s ability to convey an experience that we all have, yet make it poetic:

Sleight of hand, angry words,
and the arguments that don’t get heard
I’m so smitten and so attached
With my paper dreams you strike the match.
You should know my buttercup –
It’s easier to fall and harder to get up!

And it won’t make it any less true
When you deny what’s inside of you
I could show you a thing or two
But you’ve got to stand beside me, stand beside me.

There are two songs here that have been rescued from possible obscurity. «Puttin’ Out Fires (With Gasoline)» was a concert staple during the Audible Sigh tour, and thankfully, Mallonee saw fit to include it here. «It’s Not Bothering Me» was included on the limited edition 2000 EP, Room Despair, and has some slightly reworked lyrics here. «Green Summer Lawn» contains some of the more profound lines:

There’s a wind behind the stars
There’s a voice that says:
‘You are more than you think you are!’
If you don’t know the score you don’t know when you lose,
And my God this stuff you buy in place of the truth
Won’t stay strong
Let your worries be gone
Put your dancing shoes on
For your green summer lawn.

Bill has always described VoL’s method as “Making It Up As We Go Along.” Now he’s written the song to go with that philosophy. It speaks of how we need to put forth our best appearance, even when we’re unsure:

Hit it with a swagger
Underneath we’re not that strong
We are making it up as we go along.

So what, you ask, stops me from giving this selection my highest rating? Is it bassist Jake Bradley or drummer Kevin Heuer? No – this is the best band Mallonee has assembled yet. My minor, petty, trivial complaint is in regards to the last song on the CD, «Sailors (The Reddest Rose)» – the lyrics are great but the tempo of the song, to me, seems incredibly slow.

Summershine, if given a chance by radio and the corporate music world, will be the biggest surprise of 2001. Anyone who likes Squeeze, Tom Petty, Neil Young, XTC, the Byrds, the Athens, GA sound, or British pop will find something here. The best album I have listened to this year. [Brian A. Smith, The Phantom Tollbooth, 8/14/2001]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/summershine/32433939)

CD tracklist:

01. You Know That – 3:53
02. She Is Fading – 4:08
03. Galaxy – 4:06
04. I Could Be Wrong – 3:23
05. Along For The Ride – 3:12
06. Stand Beside Me – 2:48
07. S.O.S. – 3:39
08. Puttin’ Out The Fires – 2:43
09. Happy Being Lonely, Lonely Being Happy – 4:03
10. It’s Not Bothering Me – 4:13
11. Green Summer Lawn – 4:03
12. Making It Up As We Go Along – 2:48
13. Sailors – 5:08

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