Song of the Day: Shake Some Action! - The Girl With The Sun In Her Eyes

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. Today’s song, selected by Midday Show host Cheryl Waters, is “The Girl With The Sun In Her Eyes” by Seattle band Shake Some Action!, from their 2013 self-released album, Full Fathom Five.

Shake Some Action! – The Girl With The Sun In Her Eyes (MP3)

Sometimes it’s okay to just have fun. And it's easy to think of 80’s movie star Molly Ringwald turning, “dancing in circles”, and partying to this tune by Shake Some Action! The Seattle band formed in 2006 after the breakup of Australian guitarist and songwriter James Hall’s former group the Jeunes. Comprised of Hall, David Bos (guitar), Gary Miller (bass) and Chris Campbell (drums), the band got its moniker from the Flamin’ Groovies song of the same name. They released their first, and self-titled, album in 2007, which featured music the band licensed to Nike and Showtime's Californication. The band followed up their success a year later with 2008 release Sunny Days Ahead, recorded in Seattle at Playroom Studios. Shake Some Action! have also released a live album, Live At The Crocodile, a full performance of their third ever gig.

But that was 2009, and now in 2013, the 80’s are coming back in style and perhaps today's featured song is indicative of that trend. Bright and harmonious, “The Girl With The Sun In Her Eyes” roars, feeling impossible to halt. It is a power-pop composition with ringing Rickenbacker guitar, driving bass and enough energy to get a Seattleite out of his chair and movin’. “Something about, something about the way that she moves through the crowd – crowd! Dancing in circles, she whispers her name to the clouds – clouds!” sings songwriter James Hall. “She will be the girl with the sun in her eyes!” Reminiscent too of The Kinks, even with a splash of Oasis, Shake Some Action! presents a musical space that sheds worry and embraces the light.

You can catch some of that Shake Some Action! sunshine for yourself when they play Barboza in Seattle on June 1st, in support of Dead Ship Sailing, and again at Barboza on June 28th with The Purrs. They'll be some of the first live shows by the band in three years! You can find more about Shake Some Action!, including past albums and photos of the four-piece, on their website. For now, check out the song you may have heard if you watched Californication: