Sean MacLeod has been moving at a remarkable pace in 2026. The Scarriff, Ireland-based songwriter – a founding member of Dublin band Cisco, who recorded with U2’s producer Paul Barrett and earned critical acclaim with their album No 1 – is already two singles deep into his fifth solo album That’s When the Earth Becomes a Star, due May 5th on Bandcamp. “Light Up the Sun” arrived April 25th as a separate single outside the album rollout, released in the spirit of what it sounds like: a straightforward pop song written to welcome in summer. A sixth album of experimental material, We Don’t See What We Don’t See, is also due shortly after. For a songwriter with this much output, the quality control on “Light Up the Sun” is notably high.
Musically, the song is arranged in a timeless fashion. The beautifully warm guitar voicings and steady drum beat are the kind of combination where it would be hard to frown listening to just the instrumental. Lyrically, it’s a brilliantly well-written song about hope in the face of uncertainty – and the whole thing sounds like what the sun on a breezy summer day feels like. MacLeod’s instinct for catchy pop melodies rooted in sixties influences – the Beatles, the Beach Boys, Motown – is clearly intact, and the song earns its lightness without feeling lightweight.
As a standalone single ahead of a busy release period, “Light Up the Sun” is well-timed and well-crafted. It does exactly what it sets out to do, and as a society, we desperately need more songs like this, so I’m glad Sean MacLeod is out there doing his thing and spreading positivity.
