Cherry Ghost, “The World Could Turn” (Heavenly Recordings)
Each of us needs a good pick me up from time to time; some reassurance that the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t actually the 5:15 to Newark. For some, this can be found in life’s little miracles – birdsong, the cooing of a newborn, a found sock. For others, in the stentorious, disembodied voice from Candy Crush telling us our accomplishments are ‘sweet’, perhaps even ‘divine’. While each has its merits, I would prescribe this track from the new Cherry Ghost album, Herd Runners, out next week in the UK.
This is the first track I heard from the album, and it’s still my favorite – should’ve been the lead single. Riding a wave of Spector-like production full of insistent piano chords and snappy drums, the lyrics evoke familiar “things will get better” imagery, without a hint of irony or sarcasm. What saves the song from pushing the sentimentality to “mawkish” are the genius twists in the arrangement – the almost ghostly synth backdrop, the horns at 3:30. Impossible to listen to this and not smile.