One of the beauties of summer is its ability to provide brief respites, from the tumults of the world. When you’re beachside with a “frozen concoction” in hand, there’s little worry to be had. “Take Me Down,” the latest single from Judd Harris, captures that sentiment amidst a breezy pop enamoring, with quick guitar swipes and accompanying lyrics depicting “sun in the sky, toes in the sand.” The former American Idol contestant struts a fresh, mellow pop appeal throughout, taking inspiration from his own Caribbean travels and what inspired that move.
“How did we end up living this way?” Harris asks into the warming bass line. Follow contemplations on wasted degrees and TV binging plays with resonating effect, especially with the subsequent enticement to go down to the sea and “forget all our cares and be free.” “Take Me Down” enamors with its sense of summer-bound escapism, fit for those yearning for summer days and sunshine, when bills and obligations take a backseat, at least for one day.
Harris elaborates more on the track and its inspiration:
“After a friend died suddenly in his 30s, my wife and I decided to change our life. We had always talked about living in the Caribbean and within a year, we landed in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic. When lockdown arrived in the D.R., I stopped playing live music and started writing new songs. The Beach EP came out of that time. And much like our friend’s passing jolted us into action, I think the pandemic caused a lot of people to reevaluate their lives in different ways, and especially to question the traditional notions of achievement in America, what’s worth the sacrifice, and what isn’t. It’s like we’d all been sleepwalking and the pandemic shook us awake, wondering how and why we ended up here. The theme of wanting something more runs through The Beach EP, whether that’s a big life change, a childhood dream, a special someone, or just a beach vacation.”
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This and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of May 2023’ Spotify playlist.
