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Just a little more than a year ago, we premiered Sleepy Gaucho’s “Best Drug,” a song so dream-like in its sound that it almost demands you listen while lying down, preferably cuddled up with your partner or at least a trusty stuffed animal. At the time, I wrote, “I don’t presume to know what’s going on in the life of Andy Goitia, aka Sleepy Gaucho. But based on the new single … we should all want whatever it is.”
Well, now we know. In notes accompanying the song we’re premiering today, “Strawberry Moon,” Goitia pointed out that “it's a bit of a detour maybe to what people are used to or expecting, but it all makes sense to me as I've been madly in love the last couple years. The record is a true-love record.”
What previously manifested as dreaminess has careened toward late ’70s yacht rock, with all its trappings: funk-adjacent guitar lines, that “wah-wah” keyboard sound, snapping percussion to keep things moving and a saxophone solo(!!!). Goitia isn’t kidding when he says it’s for fans of Supertramp, ELO, Steely Dan and The Bee Gees. His vocal heights don’t quite hit those of the brothers Gibb, but Goitia does venture to the upper register as he serenades:
You’re my shooting star baby
Flying right across the sky
My shiny star honey
Moving at the speed of light
Don’t mind me
I hope I’m not out of line
Nice to meet you
My golden star delight
“I've been on a chase to write a more upbeat yet laid back style, and this is what ended up happening,” Goitia shared. “Sometimes you have to listen to where your heart takes you, and it ended up echoing the anthems and guilty pleasures of that smooth ’70s sound — or at least I believe in some way.”
Listen to “Strawberry Moon” using the player at the top of the page, and you’ll believe it, too. The track will also be part of Sleepy Gaucho’s third full-length album, True Love Corridor, coming out early next year. Head over to his website for links to his music, merch and socials.
