A Technicolor Pocket Symphony for the Northern Beaches.

The Pitch: If "Days Like These" was the soft-focus sunrise, "The Paper Kite" is the blinding, technicolor mid-day sun.

Moving slightly away from the soft-rock strum of their debut, SUMMERSTATE returns with a more ambitious, eccentric, and sun-drenched collection of songs. Drawing deep inspiration from the late-60s baroque pop explosion and the lo-fi grandeur of The Beach Boys’ Friends and Sunflower era, even "Smile" - this album is a love letter to the wind, the sky, and the art of letting go.

This is not just "Soft Pop"—this is "Pocket Symphony" Pop.

The Sound: Recorded with the signature "ReAImagined" sound—thuddy drums, dead snares, and tape-saturated tube warmth—The Paper Kite introduces a wider, weirder palette. Expect swirling harpsichords, driving shuffle beats, French horns, and the modular, "Smile"-esque quirkiness of tracks that change tempo with the wind.

It is the sound of a 1970s transistor radio blowing off a towel at Avalon Beach.

Featured Tracks:

"The Paper Kite": A baroque-pop waltz that anchors the album’s theme of fragility. "Sunshine In My Heart": A tribute to Teddy Randazzo, with a sunshine/soft pop flavour.

SUMMERSTATE – Days of Tender Light

Days of Tender Light is the new album from SUMMERSTATE — a 14-song journey into the glowing world of mid-to-late 60s pop, where lush harmonies, bright melody, baroque-pop colour and California warmth meet in a record full of heart, hooks and surprise. Steeped in the spirit of classic sunshine pop, rich vocal pop, early Beach Boys-style innocence and ornate late-60s studio craft, the album moves between radiant melodic rushes, wistful romantic moments and the occasional unexpected turn.

At its heart, Days of Tender Light is a harmony-rich pop record — warm, melodic, dreamy and deeply song-driven — but it never stays in one place for too long. Across the album, shimmering vocal blends, elegant arrangements and glowing coastal atmosphere sit alongside deeper shadows, modular pop movement, richer emotional turns and one especially sweeping romantic ballad that reaches beyond the album’s sunlit centre. The result is an album that feels rooted in a beloved musical past, yet alive with its own character from beginning to end.

Written with a deep love for the golden age of 60s pop, Days of Tender Light captures that feeling of melody carrying everything — the rush of harmony, the ache of romance, the colour of the arrangement, and the sense that each song opens onto its own little world.

All songs, lyrics and melodies on this album were written by Ash Wells. All instrumental and production direction was also conceived by Ash Wells, including the melodic and arrangement ideas used to shape each track. AI tools were used to realise the final recorded sound, including the finished vocals and instrumental production.

Track Listing

1. I’ll Be Alright
2. It’s A Little Colder Tonight
3. The Sound Of Her Name
4. She’s In The Air
5. She Moves Me
6. The Day She Came Around
7. Stay By Me Tonight
8. I Feel Her Near
9. Tell Me That You Need Me
10. The World Turned Blue
11. Once Is Enough
12. When The Night Falls Down
13. I Only Want Her
14. Baby, Close Your Eyes

Credits / Note

All songs, lyrics, melodies and production concepts by Ash Wells. Final vocals and instrumental production realised using AI tools.