The Bright Side (Lenka album)

Background

After self-releasing her third album, Shadows, on her own label, Skipalong Records, Lenka began writing her fourth effort. Lenka's third album came after her departure from Epic Records. Despite leaving her record company, in May 2015 it was announced that the album would be jointly released between Skipalong and Sony-ATV Music Publishing, which traditionally publishes Lenka's songs. The album was published through Sony ATV's record label, Hickory Records and Sony Red Music Distribution. Co-president of Sony ATV US, Danny Strickt, stated that "Sony/ATV is excited to be taking this innovative approach with Lenka whose music has long been hugely popular with brands, TV shows and filmmakers. The new partnership perfectly illustrates how the company’s A&R and synch teams can effectively combine to create new opportunities for our songwriters." Sony-ATV US Vice-President said that “This is a really special partnership Sony/ATV has struck with Lenka. Our synch department has had such incredible success with her in the past and is receiving widespread interest for this new album."

Single

"Blue Skies" was chosen as the album's first single, being released on February 28 exclusively on some news sites where Lenka commented on the song, her inspirations and news about the new album. On March 4 it was officially released on all digital platforms. The music video was released on February 10 on her YouTube channel. Directed and idealized by her husband James Gulliver Hancock, the production shows Lenka cycling through the city and lying on the green grass of the yard looking at the clouds in the sky and interpreting the song.In some scenes the clouds take the form of letters, hands, hearts and raindrops. Lenka also appears jumping in a tranpolim at various times. On May 29, a remix version of the song was released on a Youtube remix channel, the Trap Nation, indirectly helping to promote the single, but performing better than the original version. On January 9 Lenka released an EP of remixes of Blue Skies as a gift for their fans and to celebrate the new year

Other Songs

Unique" was first released in January 2014 in some countries, however, eventually entered the tracklist of the album and was chosen as a promotional track. The music video was recorded in "selfie" format, showing Lenka in several places and with different costumes singing the song. The video still counts on the participation of several fans from all parts of the world, who recorded small videos dancing the song and sent to the official email of Lenka, just as she had requested that they do. "Go Deeper" was also released as a promotional album, but did not have a video. In an interview, Lenka revealed that the song was written in 2006 and was inspired by her husband.

Critical reception

The Bright Sidereceived positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Darren Levin of the Rolling Stones said "It’s a cloying album at times, but only someone with a heart of stone could deny such a joyous and refreshing worldview." praising Lenka's optimism and the beautiful messages that the songs convey to the listener. Jacqueline Kim from The Guardian gave 4 out of 5 stars on the album saying "Still, we never lose that sense that the entire album sees the world as a glass that’s half-full, and for that reason, it’s just plain fun to listen to repeatedly. Yes, Lenka’s pop sensibilities may sound intended for use in mass media (which would explain why “The Show” worked so well in “Moneyball”), but really, who’s ever been ashamed to listen to something that was probably used as a cheery commercial jingle? Just take a leaf from Lenka’s happy-go-lucky philosophy in “Unique”: “I like to move around to a different beat, / … /I don’t really mind what you all think.”". However, Metacritic and Allmusic, two major and important American review sites did not evaluate the album.