Irish songwriter Barry Walsh aims straight for the stratosphere with his new single, “Star Ride.” Decades removed from his stint leading ’90s power-pop outfit The Fireflys, Walsh is currently making music out of his home studio in Trim, Co. Meath, where he handles all production and instrumentation duties in collaboration with his son.
The result is a supersonic rush of celestial pop that wears its 1950s sci-fi influences boldly on its sleeve. Think glammed-up, jangly guitar rock colliding with shredded riffs and massive, stacked heavenly harmonies. It operates on a continuously driving rhythm that bursts at the seams until it finally drops you into an expansive, zero-gravity chorus.
Thematic gravity plays a massive role here. Walsh explores the tension between an earthbound soul and a wildly free-spirited love interes it is Mars staring entirely dumbfounded at Venus. Yet, the forward momentum remains fiercely uplifting. It pushes you to abandon mundane reality, risk the jump, and venture into the romantic void. The underlying promise is wonderfully reassuring: even if you completely miss the stars, you won’t come crashing back down empty-handed.
If a catchy alternative pop anthem can so effortlessly bridge the cold physics of the universe with human romantic desire, what earthly excuses do the rest of us really have for staying grounded?
