Improbably recorded in Nashville, Tennessee, Music City U.S.A. for the county genere, AV Super Sunshine’s “Candyland” isn’t a hayseed farmer’s lament or paint by number love song ready for sale at your nearest Wal-Mart. The new single from the pride of Wisconsin’s rambunctious imagination is an energetic and inspired take on kicking medication he once took to help with PTSD issues and the ensuing discomfort that results. It takes a slightly renegade songwriting point of view to link such subject matter up with the longtime popular board game Candyland, but AV Super Sunshine writes and plays by his own rules and few will quibble with the decision once they hear the recording. He released the track in two versions – a radio and rock mix – but it isn’t for comparison. Instead, it is a move intended to satisfy the full breadth of his creativity by illustrating for listeners two of the ways Sunshine hears the song unfolding in his own mind.
The rock mix has more wallop than its radio version, that’s no surprise, and Sunshine cuts it closer to the bone without ever skimping listeners on value. There’s a palpable sense of confidence emanating from both versions of the song but the rock take on “Candyland” arguably realizes the inherent contrasts of emotion and physical experience Sunshine wants to depict in a fuller way than its radio version can. It definitely has a more dramatic feel thanks to Brad Pemberton’s drumming and Michael Bradford’s bass. The rhythm section provides a steady ballast lacking in the radio cut of the track and reverberates in your ears throughout the performance and after the last note fades.
There’s B3 keyboard playing in the rock track that is much more front and center in the radio version. Andrew Higley does an excellent job dispatching the melodic B3 lines and responds to the song’s shifting currents with creative variations on its main theme; it’s the closest any instrument in either version comes to taking on instrumental breaks of any meaningful sort. The radio mix is longer than the rock and affords the musicians a chance to stretch out without ever risking self indulgence; the backing vocals are better appreciated and an acoustic guitar track running just under the surface of the mix provides a light rhythmic counterpoint to the B3.
The song’s bridges are notable in both versions, but the radio mix makes the strengths stand out clearer than elsewhere. It’s during these moments when Sunshine’s inspiration takes full flight and they provide even sharper contrasts with the chorus than we hear in the rock mix. It’s a shrewd move from Sunshine to release the single in such a way; two mixes for the song gives listeners of every ilk something to appreciate with this track and they are wildly entertaining experiences despite the relative heaviness of the subject matter. His lyrics never browbeat listeners with doom and gloom, however, but broad brush strokes instead that leaves interpretation up to the listener. “Candyland” is one of the best singles I’ve heard this year and newcomers to AV Super Sunshine will finish the song believers in his considerable talents.
Missy Hogan