Josh Raines – Daydreaming: Gravity-Defying Indie Soul Pop to Wooze You Away from Melancholy –

Josh Raines fits right into the Jungian archetype of the wounded healer; his latest single, Daydreaming, is his most potent dose of medicine yet. The addiction-medicine doctor and pop-Americana songwriter creates music to help his own mental health while helping others with theirs, giving the single an unusually sincere foundation beneath its sun-drunk melodic lift.

Semi-lucid reverie takes the form of surfy 60s indie pop as the earworm defies gravity and wraps you up in melodies that echo the woozy euphoria of Foster the People’s iconic single, Pumped Up Kicks, just with a few more oceanic waves lapping against the shore of the single, delivering an unrivalled high; you know it’s efficacious when an outro leaves you with a comedown.

All of the imagery in the lyrics only serves to take you higher as Raines enmeshes dream-like visuals with swoons of soulful sincerity. Produced and recorded by Raines, then mixed by seven-time Grammy-nominated producer and engineer Tony Hoffer, whose credits include Beck, Air, Depeche Mode, Phoenix, M83 and Foster the People, Daydreaming has the clarity and melodic architecture to travel far beyond indie-pop playlists.

Following a viral online moment that pulled millions into his orbit, Raines sounds ready for a wider audience. Even without a mainstream to declare a definitive song of the summer, Daydreaming is guaranteed to soundtrack the season for everyone who resonates with it.

Daydreaming is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast