Smokey Brights - "Long Goodbye" from the 2023 album Levitator from Nine Mile.

For over a decade, Seattle natives Smokey Brights have been building a loyal fanbase with their high-energy shows and emotionally resonant music. In early June, the quartet, led by husband-and-wife duo Kim West and Ryan Devlin, unveiled their fourth full-length Levitation. The record is touted as, “A motivational mix-tape for our collective crisis of confidence,” and a “musical, magical incantation cast to lift off and dance with the cosmos, to dig deep where the diamonds shine, to laugh away our self-pity.”

Our Song of the Day is the early single “Long Goodbye” which features a rambling guitar line and belted harmonies, as West and Devlin examine the complex feelings left in the aftermath of a decayed relationship. The band describes the song like this:

“Long Goodbye reflects on how some relationships only find their meaning in how they end. At the conclusion of an ill fated romance, a tumultuous friendship, or even a bad job, there’s a moment you realize that all that pain, all that uncertainty you felt surrounding the other person was a long goodbye.”

Catch Smokey Brights at the Crocodile opening for Neal Francis on Saturday, July 8th, watch their KEXP in-studio session from 2018, and read the full post at KEXP.org.