How each of the Sudden Lights albums represent one of the seasons.
Ok, this is a long post. I tried to put my thoughts into words, but sometimes it might not make much sense to anyone but me. Also, all of this is my own interpretation of the songs and some of my reasons are a little bit of a stretch.
Priekšpilsētas is their Spring album.
Spring is associated with the ideas of rebirth, renewal and growth. Snow begins to melt and plants start blooming. Priekšpilsētasis all about growing up. Finding your way in life.
Laikmets is the perfect song to demonstrate the rebirth of spring. The chorus sums it up perfectly: Grūstot mūriem un sienām sabrucis mans nemiernieka gars/Jauns laikmets pieklīdis/Pie malas ieročus un bultas (transl: Together with the collapsing walls, my rebel spirit has fallen/A new era has stumbled in/Throw aside weapons and arrows)
Do I even have to give any commentary on this. It’s pretty obvious.
To me, spring is also the most positive of the seasons. Summer is too hot, fall is often associated with death and in the winter everything becomes dark. Spring, on the other hand, is when the weather is the best and everything comes alive again. Similarly this also feels like their most positive album. A lot of songs have this air of melancholy that, by the end of the song, gets waved away with an ‘everything will work out in the end’.
The most obvious example is Just Fine, but even in songs such as Šajā sētas pusē (Viegli pazust pat nemeklējot/Un jā, reizēm palīdz tikai karsta tēja // It’s easy to disappear without even looking/And yeah, sometimes only hot tea helps) and Vibrant (We couldn't dance, but that's all right/Our fingers somehow found their way) I feel this sentiment return.
Vislabāk Ir Tur, Kur Manis Nav is their Autumn album.
Autumn is often associated with the harvest, the falling of the leaves, the shortening of the days and melancholy. The warm summer has ended and the gray skies of the winter are on the horizon.
This album feels like a departure from the ‘everything will be fine’ mentality of Priekšpilsētas. It feels a lot more melancholic. Loneliness is a common element in these songs. For example:
- Kas šodien pilsēta palicis viens (transl: Who remains alone in the city today) – Dzivnieks
- Pasakiet man, lūdzu, kāds/Ka es šeit neesmu viens (transl: Someone please tell me/That I’m not alone here) – Nejauši
- Tikmēr vēl laiva kā kontinents lēni slīd/Tikai jūra un es (transl: Meanwhile my boat drifts slowly like a continent/Only the sea and I) – Izbēgšana
The whole title of this album, Vislabāk Ir Tur, Kur Manis Nav (transl: It’s best where I’m not), suggests this more depressing feeling.
Darkness is also something that gets brought up a few times in this album. Like in Dzivnieks: ‘Visapkārt kļūst tumšs’ (transl: All around becomes dark); Negribu Piezemēties: ‘Caur klusu tumsu’ (transl: In the silent darkness); and Izbēgšana: ‘Kāds izslēdza gaismu’ (transl: Someone turned off the light)
Miljards vasaru is their Summer album.
Summer is associated with the heat, long days and vacation. It’s also the season of longing for those days in your childhood where you had no responsibilities and the possibilities were endless. Miljards vasaru is all about longing. Both for the past and for a certain person.
The song that encapsulates that longing for the past the best is Siltas vasaras ēnā. I am of the opinion that the 'you'-figure in this song is a romanticized version of the past. I won't go into detail about that right now, I might make another post about that someday. But the reason I bring this up is the line 'Pēc tevis ilgoties man neapnīk' (transl: I don't get tired of longing for you). This whole song is about longing for a time that has long since passed.
Another song that looks back on those endless summerdays is Miljards vasaru. The lines: Viens miljards vasaru/Ko nepamanījām/Atpakaļskata spogulī (transl: One billion summers/That we didn't notice/In the rearview mirror)
In terms of longing for a person. Well, this whole album is a love album. So many songs about longing for a partner; Klusumi; Saules noburtā; Pāris neuzņemtu foto; Izslēdz gaismu, kad ej prom; and of course if you want to interpret it as romantic Siltas vasaras ēnā
Another thing, while I don't know much about music theory, but to me this album just sounds like a summer album. though, I can't really explain why.
Īsas vasaras garas ziemas is their Winter album.
Winter is associated with snow, the cold, seasonal depression, but also getting together for the holidays. Īsas vasaras garas ziemas is all about getting through the winter, through dark times and hoping for warmer days.
Februāris is a great example. Lines like ‘No ziemas nogura tauta’ (transl: People became tired of the winter), ‘Kad dienas līdz pavasarim skaiti’ (transl: When you count the days until spring), and ‘Mierina doma/Arī šis pāries’ (transl: A thought calms me/Even this will end) show this hoping for better times.
Saules Dienas also about this. Even though when I first listen to it, it sounded like a very upbeat, summersong. Translating the lyrics shows that it’s more so about waiting for summer: Un tikai gaidu kā lietus uznāks/Un skumjas no tavas sejas nost/Noskalos (transl: And I’m just waiting for the rain to come/And the sadness/To be washed away off your face); Jo ikdiena sāk šķist kā sods/Tikai vienu saules dienu dod (transl: Because everyday-life starts to feel like a punishment/Just give me one sunny day).
Besides the ‘hoping for warmer days’ theme, another reason I see this as the winter album is all the references to the winter. Here’s just a few examples:
- Domas netīras vai nāks sniegs vai lietus (transl: Impure thoughts, will it snow or rain) – trubadūrs
- Es gaidīšu kad beigsies sals (transl: I will wait for the frost to end) – nejauši kadri
- nav svara ne tam kur kanalizācijas akas roku šoziem (transl: It doesn’t matter where the sewer wells are this winter) – Celtnieks
- Tik pašsaprotami kā ziemā sniegs (transl: So self-explanatory like snow in the winter) – Mēs turpināmies
- Februāris, just the entire song.
- and you can’t forget Atri leni, where the title for the album comes from.
I know that none of the references alone would be enough evidence, but the fact that so many different songs feature references to the winter feels on purpose.
So, on February 11, 2023, I was sitting in my college dorm room scrolling through Instagram when I found out that Latvia had chosen their representative. The band Sudden Lights had won Supernova with their song "Aijā." And when I heard it for the first time not much later, the rest was really history (I'd show you the notes but they are forever lost on my tablet which bit the dust recently).
Well, we now fast forward 2 years. Or, a beautiful Eurovision performance, a bunch of fun singles and performances later, the band has released their (rather anticipated as they were loved in Eurovision) 4th album. The album, titled "Īsas vasaras, garas ziemas" follows their previous albums ("Priekšpilsētas" from 2017, "Vislabāk ir tur, kur manis nav" from 2019, and "Miljards vasaru" from 2022) with the music they have shared with the world.
I don't have a full review as I only listened to it once at the midnight drop (a few hours late because I'm on US time which is very much NOT Latvian time...time zones gotta love them) and want the songs to sink into my mind. But I will say they stay loyal to the music that we heard in Eurovision and their previous albums, but left room to experiment with their sound to make things truly interesting.
The lesson? KEEP LISTENING TO YOUR FAVES OUTSIDE OF THE CONTEST! It doesn't matter where they finish, you just may find a gem! I've discovered some truly great music that way.
(Also, hear for yourself with the SPOTIFY LINK! *I can't gatekeep you guys lmao*)
