The songs comprising Sunshower—produced by the band and noted engineer Chris Ribando (The Black Crowes, Priestbird, Mary J. Blige)—blend contemporary styles with a myriad of classic influences, from Dylan and The Beatles to Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac to The Police and Talking Heads. But you wouldn’t immediately hear them. The band has a knack for combining all of those influences into something utterly vital and wholly their own, as they’ve done on first single “Flaming Arrow,” a shimmering, ringing acoustic folk tune shot through with a bumping bassline and New Orleans inspired drum groove.
Sunshower dazzles on tracks like the dancefloor-friendly “Simple Stones,” filled with handclaps and soulful economic riffing that boasts a bass line for the ages while blending ‘80s Stones and MGMT. The epic opener “Volcano” melds The Beach Boys with The Flaming Lips, while delivering one of the disc’s best choruses. If Ishibashi conjures The Shins on “Find Me a Place,” he drops vintage, finger-picking folk on disc-closer “People in the Mountain.” As guitarist Zac Colwell puts it: “We can sound like Simon & Garfunkel, The Kooks, or even from a webisode of Yacht Rock.”
If they had their way, listeners would ingest each track on Sunshower as they would a new chapter in a never-boring book. Says singer/multi-instrumentalist K Ishibashi, “We approach every song like, ‘Will people be able to listen to this over and over again?’ ”
“Each song is like a little world,” adds Colwell. “We’re the same four guys playing the music on each track, but we just like to get way down in there and explore that little world.”
What K Ishibashi (lead vocals), Zac Colwell (lead guitar), Dave Heilman (drums) and Pat Dougherty (bass) have created as a result is a hook-heavy album tailor-made for our ADD times. And that mix-it-up mentality suits the band, as its songs are written by either Colwell or Ishibashi, each of whom have opposing approaches to lyric and melody.
“K leaves things a little more open for the listener,” says Colwell, who also plays keyboards and flute and adds backing vocals. “I consciously try to have a little narrative, and tell a story.” Counters Ishibashi, who plays guitar and violin in addition to singing lead on Sunshower: “His songs are pretty dark. I write bright, fun stuff, a lot of it stemming from one really big emotional experience. I’m more analytical, more left brain, he’s more right.”
“If there’s a theme to the album, it would definitely be bittersweetness,” Colwell continues.
“There’s definitely some humor, playfulness, but there’s also this twenty-something, we-have-to-temper-our-excitement sort of thing, especially being New Yorkers. Our elation is always checked, and some of the lyrics reflect that.” Bittersweet can be contradictory in terms, but in this case, these four unique personalities colorfully complement one another.
Although officially formed in 2003, the seeds for Jupiter One were planted in 2000 when Austin native Colwell and Ishibashi (raised in Virginia) met while working as touring musicians with a traveling circus, the Barnum Kaleidoscope. Bonding over their love for all music from soul to classical Indian, the duo began performing instrumental music in New York in the early 2000s, gradually working their way toward pop music incorporating vocals, and gigs at Pianos, Arlene’s Grocery and other reputable venues around Manhattan. “We noticed that once we started singing, girls started coming to shows,” laughs Colwell.
A former member of the popular STOMP performance collective, New Jersey-born drummer Heilman, caught an early incarnation of Jupiter One at a now-defunct bar in New York’s Lower East Side. “There was a unique, analog keyboard sound, something you don’t really hear anymore, especially then, in 2004,” he says, “and it just created this incredible sense of nostalgia. It made me feel like the band’s music was already history. It totally felt classic, and it made me sit up on the edge of my seat.” The current incarnation of the band coalesced with the addition of Delaware-raised bassist Pat Dougherty.
Taking its name from the spaceship in the ‘60s television show Lost in Space, Jupiter One made its recorded debut in 2005 with a self-titled EP, three songs from which made the transition—albeit in re-recorded form—to the group’s official self-titled debut album. The songs on Jupiter One scored the band a slew of high-level song-placements in TV and film projects (including the upcoming indie film Broken Windows, MLB Opening Day ‘09, NASCAR Talladega Race ’09 NBC’s Heroes Tribute, and the Sci-Fi channel’s Flash Gordon), as well as a number of video games (Madden NFL ’08, NHL ’08, etc.), and commercials (Payless‘09, Mazda ‘08).
Behind the new wave-inspired Jupiter One, the band members—having quit their day jobs—criss-crossed the States, building a fan base and surviving on Subway’s five-dollar footlong special, laughs Heilman. “We spent 14 months sluggin’ it out in the clubs,” he says. “We did not want to be some sort of boring web sensation. We wanted to meet our fans face to face.” And the work has paid off. “It’s definitely a show we’ve put time into, so it’s not just four guys playing a song, it’s supposed to be a spectacle,” says Colwell.
With producer/engineer Ribando at the controls, Sunshower embraces warmer, analog sounds and vintage recording techniques. “It’s the sound of the four of us playing together, rather than layering in the studio,” says Colwell. “Instead of piecemeal, it’s the way we actually sound live.”
Forgetting the sound for a minute, and thinking about the songs, Ishibashi adds: “We just want people to internalize them. We want Sunshower to be a journey.”
Countdown
Jupiter One Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Our God and King
His love endures forever
For He is good, He is above all things
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
With a mighty hand
and outstretched arm
For the life that's been reborn
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
Yeah
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever
Forever
From the rising to the setting sun
His love endures forever
By the grace of God
We will carry on
His love endures forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
Yeah
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever
Forever
Forever God is faithful
Forever God is strong
Forever God is with us
Forever
Forever
Forever
His love endures forever
His love endures forever
His love endures forever
Forever
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing praise, sing praise
Yeah
Forever you are faithful
Forever you are strong
Forever you are with us
Forever
And ever
Yeah
Forever you are faithful
Forever you are strong
Forever you are with us
Forever
Forever
You are God
Forever
And ever and ever
The lyrics of Jupiter One's song, Countdown, is a song that praises and gives thanks to God for his eternal love and faithfulness towards us. Through the song, the writer emphasizes that God's love is not a fleeting or conditional love that ebbs and flows with time but one that endures forever. The first and second line of the song remind listeners to give thanks to the Lord for he is our God and King, whose love endures forever. To emphasize God's sovereignty, the lyricist describes him as above all things, with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm.
Furthermore, the song reiterates that God's love is steadfast and enduring, which reflects the nature of the God we serve. The lyrics "You are God, forever and ever" emphasize the everlasting nature of God and his unwavering commitment to humanity. The phrase "Sing praise" is repeated throughout the lyrics to encourage listeners to raise their voices in songs of adoration and gratitude to God for his blessings and faithfulness. The song also speaks of hope and perseverance in difficult times by stating that God's love will carry us through the challenges we face.
Line by Line Meaning
Give thanks to the Lord
Express gratitude to God
Our God and King
God is our ruler and master
His love endures forever
God's love is everlasting and unchanging
For He is good, He is above all things
God is good and greater than all
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing a song of praise to God
With a mighty hand
God's power is great
and outstretched arm
God is able to act and help
For the life that's been reborn
Celebrate the new life given by God
Yeah
Express agreement or enthusiasm
Forever God is faithful
God is always trustworthy
Forever God is strong
God is always powerful
Forever God is with us
God is always present with us
From the rising to the setting sun
God's love endures forever, all day long
By the grace of God
Through God's unmerited favor and help
We will carry on
We will continue despite difficulties
Sing praise, sing praise
Sing a song of praise to God
Forever you are faithful
God, you are always trustworthy
Forever you are strong
God, you are always powerful
Forever you are with us
God, you are always present with us
You are God
Affirming God's deity and sovereignty
And ever and ever
Throughout all time
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, CONCORD MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Robert Shea Taylor, Terius Youngdell Nash, Wanya Jermaine Morris, Nathan B. Morris, Cainon Renard Lamb, Beyonce Gisselle Knowles, Julie Frost, Michael Bivins, Esther Dean
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tyrionmannister8763
2022 and still the most underrated song ever
@loganfehr5640
Bro fr
@CryptoUno
One of them for sure 💯
@NeighbourNancy
The facts don't lie!
@jonnyreyes8623
Indeed
@infinitygauge
Hell yeah. I felt like I was legit a part of the NFL with this track
@studioGRAY10
I think it's safe to say that Madden 08 had the best soundtrack ever.
@TaiSmoove20018
absolutely
@ForWhatItsWorth_
it's not even close
@M4DV1LL14N
studioGRAY10 madden 05 had the best soundtrack ever