Anyone who can make falling in love feel so natural is someone the music world needs. Brooklyn-based songwriter Good Louis seems to understand that perfectly with ‘Hope You Will’, the first single from his forthcoming fifth album, Stays Alive. No overly romantic oversell, no saccharine clichés, no tortured metaphors, just an upbeat celebration of taking a chance on love, even when circumstances appear determined to get in the way; it brings together a wonderfully eclectic musical palette without losing sight of the simple pleasure at its heart.
Good Louis has a knack for combining seemingly disparate ingredients, and here pop contagion, indie-rock energy, a splash of neo-soul warmth, and an infectious dancefloor groove are woven together into a sun-strewn sonic slice. Bubbling organs, sixties-inspired beats, and funky rhythmic flourishes give the track a wonderfully buoyant feel. If you ever wondered what the term ‘earworm’ actually means, you can’t get a better example than this.
Beneath all that musical bliss is a rather lovely sentiment. ‘Hope You Will’ celebrates meeting the right person and wanting to travel together, seeing where the road leads and enjoying the journey, an idea that has a pleasing duality: it works as well as an invitation to join someone for an afternoon road trip as it does as a proposition to become travelling companions for the much longer, more unpredictable adventure that is life itself.
Good Louis takes a familiar romantic notion and gives it a little extra mileage, wrapping it in a sound that is playful, soulful and effortlessly infectious. And if the destination is uncertain, so much the better. After all, the best journeys are rarely about where you’re going, but who is sitting beside you when you get there.
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