This one starts with a guitar sound that’s like stepping out from being inside too long, courtesy of Andy Smythe. Beautiful Day is hardly trying to impress you from the get-go. It simply seems to get into your system and you get into it.
Over the years Andy has been working in the UK independent scene, playing a huge amount of shows and gaining respect for his voice and ability to go in so many directions. You can see here that sort of experience, not in flash but in the comfort and naturalness of everything. The vocals are very natural sounding. There’s nothing dramatic or pushed about the delivery. It feels like someone is just talking about something great in their life in a straightforward manner, and that simplicity is exactly what makes it memorable.
As the song progresses, more instruments are added in without overpowering the other instruments. All things remain open and airy. There’s a nice up and down to the arrangement that helps things move forward, but never rushes or pushes into a more elevated moment than the arrangement warrants. There’s a little bit of room for the song to stretch out, with a brief instrumental section in the middle. It doesn’t become a show, however. It’s right in with the story that the song is telling, and then folds into the rest of the song nicely.
It is old fashioned, but in a good way, songs made to be sung, not analyzed. It’s simple and uncomplicatedly honest and that’s honest for real. At the end of “Beautiful Day,” you’re somewhere lighter than when you started. Andy Smythe has created something that asks very little from the listener other than enjoyment and that’s what makes it so good.
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