Song Premiere: Jonny Kaplan And The Lazy Stars, “Sparkle And Shine”

Jonny Kaplan has been releasing hit albums in Europe for more than a decade, sticking close to a rootsy country-rock sound influenced by the Band, the Black Crowes and Neil Young. On his newest single, “Sparkle and Shine,” he even sings about his own personal goldrush.

“‘Sparkle and Shine’ can be taken a few different ways,” he says of the song, which doubles as the title track of his upcoming album. “I wrote it from the point of view of a gold miner in California during the gold rush, digging for this little sparkle in the dirt. He is really me, looking for this sparkle in the heart of a woman. I am searching and searching, and digging for that heart of gold. Another way to look at the lyric is much more broad: we are all searching for the good in life. No matter how hard life is, we know that it’s out there. We just have to keep digging for that sparkle and shine in the dirt.”

Sparkle and Shine, which includes cameos by Rami Jaffee of the Wallflowers and Adam MacDougall of the Black Crowes, will be released on October 8.