A testament to the craft of songwriting, I Wish You Stayed is a powerful showcase of just how much Lazy Sunsets can achieve.
Born through a chance meeting on a music website, Lazy Sunsets comprises of Australia’s Pete Stephenson and Tennessee’s Kara Greskovic.
Traversing Stephenson’s catalogue of written work, the duo created Lazy Sunsets, a project that spans genre and time.
With newest release I Wish You Stayed, the pair successfully replicate one of music’s favourite decades. Pop punk realness and alternative pop rock sensibility, I Wish You Stayed is a sonic time machine.
A blend of Michelle Branch, Rilo Kiley and mid-era Avril Lavigne, I Wish You Stayed channels the greats. Simple but effective lyricism tops perfected guitar hooks and dynamic structure.
It’s a perfect ode to a genre past – though one that seems to steadily be making a comeback in its various forms.
Executed with such a precision that it would be hard to discern whether or not I Wish You Stayed was in fact pulled from the Freaky Friday or Buffy The Vampire Slayer soundtrack, or had somehow come to life in 2023.
Instantly memorable and catchy, Lazy Sunsets present themselves as immensely experienced and highly talented musicians; musicians that have found their other creative half.
What started as a piano ballad morphed into this pop rock standard, a wise and undoubtedly effective choice made by Stephenson.
Drawing on the instant nostalgia evoked by such a recognisable genre, I Wish You Stayed immediately proves itself.
By the first chorus there is a sense of being hooked, one that is solidified by such a melodic, smartly constructed instrumental.
Drums that complement the guitars that complement the vocals, I Wish You Stayed brings in a classic 2000s synth and a raging guitar solo to complete the journey.
So successful in its mimicry of the genre, it is genuinely hard to believe that I Wish You Stayed isn’t a deep cut from the annals of 2002 pop punk.
A testament to the craft of songwriting, the prevailing strength of a genre and just plain talented musicality, I Wish You Stayed is a powerful showcase of just how much Lazy Sunsets can achieve.
Listen to I Wish You Stayed below.
Review by Caitlin Norris
