Australian singer-songwriter Oliver Downes brings wry observations and heartfelt chamber-pop songwriting to While The Sun Shines, an album contemplating family life, personal setbacks, and the effort to appreciate everyday moments amid uncertainty. Written across Melbourne’s COVID lockdowns, the collection balances offbeat humor with disarming tenderness.
Kicking off the album with a riveting, melodic wit, “Standards” fuses upright bass, vibrant piano, and woozy brass amidst lyrical perspectives of Downes’ music career thus far — from the childhood perspectives of “my momma told me candid, don’t care what you wanna be, just do it up to standard” to the tumult and rush of aspiring in adulthood. Alluring backing harmonies further bolster the catchy, heart-on-sleeve progression, with the “please enjoy the show” hook delighting in its sophisti-pop vibrancy; the depiction of both the struggle within a music-related career, but also its potential for creativity-driven euphoria, is stirring.
The quality, personal songwriting continues on the ensuing “It’ll Be Alright,” conveying a lusher piano-driven balladry that swells into effusive harmonic glows. The admissions of not knowing “when the weather will turn” show impactfully, particularly in the track’s context, conveying the uncertainty of life; Downes wrote the song for his daughter, during the difficult beginning to her life. “When you shake your fist at the sky, I will know just what to say,” a warming guide-like wisdom exudes, offering to stand close by as they experience struggle and frustration in times ahead. It’s a further reflection of Downes’ excellent, relatable songs, often digging into the realities of life, acknowledging its harrowing elements but also that “it’ll be all right,” as echoed in the closing refrain to this stellar track of the same name.
Especially representative of the album’s themes is its title track, reveling in the beauty of life and the important, small moments that make it so worthwhile — the type that “make color appear in the grey.” Effervescent piano and brass elements adorn the lyrical depictions of blissful days to the park and beach with family. “We put the tent up and you sheltered underneath, then you ate your weight in watermelon dripping pink and sweet,” his delivery resonates, uplifted by wordless backing expressions. The bright chamber-pop songwriting and lyrical expressions remind fondly of Jens Lekman here. Elsewhere, “Ever After All” meditates on small chores — walking the dog, vacuuming the carpet, checking the news — while urging to keep hold of your dreams, even as the world seems to spin in constant tumult.
Album finale “That’s Enough” delights as well, its intertwining of piano and budding strings driving into a lead embrace to “make a start and try again, to do the work or leave condemned.” Pairing motivational lyricism, reflecting on the beauty of life and personal power despite obstacles, with chamber-pop melodic consistency, While The Sun Shines is a gripping full-length success from Oliver Downes.
