I guess I should start by saying you’re welcome and I’m sorry for bringing you Arthur C. Lee’s snappy new single, “The Storm.” You’re welcome, obviously, because this sweet and boppy little number will provide some much-needed spring to your step and bob to your head as we finally round the curve on this multiply-traumatic winter and bear down into a spring of hope such as many of us have never lived through before. I’m sorry because, if you’re anything like me, this song will be running through your head pretty much non-stop for weeks to come. It will soundtrack your dreams, and you will wake up with it circling through your mind, wondering at first what classic pop gem you latched onto during your last trip to Trader Joe’s, before you realize no, it’s Arthur C. Lee’s “The Storm,” from the new Ball of Wax, and you’ll go listen to it for real just to set the right tone for the day.
Actually, you know what? I’m not sorry. Sure, earworms can be annoying, but this is an aural nightcrawler of the highest caliber, a tune that Brian Wilson himself would be delighted to have wriggling around in that big ol’ California noggin of his. Apology retracted! Now go listen to “The Storm” again.