Aderyn – Lucozade (self-released)
Welsh songwriter Aderyn brings summer sunshine and catchiness with a grunge edge on debut single Lucozade.
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Artist: Aderyn
Track: Lucozade
Label: Self-released
Released: 31 July 2020
Find it: Spotify
I hadn’t thought about these things in years but the very mention of Lucozade – the title of the debut single from Welsh songwriter Aderyn – sent my memory tumbling back down the corridors with the squeaky and air-bubbled floor, and into the too hot side rooms.
Lucozade: the glowing orange bottle, in the crinkling orange wrapper, which sat so enticingly on the bedside locker of a sick relative. In the muted tones, and functional spaces of a convalescence hospital that bottle shone like a holy relic made all the more tempting by being off limits for me. It would hold my gaze and be a reward for sitting quietly on the rough plastic chairs while the grown-ups talked about the ailments of the strangers sharing the space.
An elixir, this drink from the corner shop would bring energy to those whose bodies were flagging, and health where there was sickness. At some point it all changed without me realising. Those visits stopped and if ever that bright bottle was spotted it was background ephemera. But beyond my interest it was no longer that hopeful drink for the old and infirm, it was reborn as extra vitality for those still full of it. Instead of eking things out, it was starting them off with a bang.
‘I’m gonna catch you cos / you shake me up with just a touch / you fizz like Lucozade’
And from there it becomes the bubbling and vibrant with the first flush of a crush, in this single from Aderyn. With jangling guitars and a full on summer vibe this is POP. The sweetness of the melody is balanced with an edge to the vocal, and to the drops and spins.
Lyrically there is the rush, and the frustration, and the dreaming of the possibilities which are just as much a part of any fledgling fling as the relationship itself. The track manages to walk that line between playful innocence and knowing all the steps to this particular dance. In just over 2 minutes it whirls through and lifts you, catchy and bright, to be pretty near perfect summer pop.
Lucozade is out now on all digital platforms.
Find Aderyn: Twitter | Instagram | Spotify
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Sarah Lay
A long-standing music journalist she's also co-founder of independent record label Reckless Yes, an author of novels, and when not messing around with words and music, a digital strategist.
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