State In The Real – Penn State Music Scene

Listen & Love: "Twinkle Lightly (Reprise)" by Talain Rayne

To effectively pack love, loss, youth, faith, hope, and heartache into three and a half minutes would take an artistic genius. To bring together warm emotion and cold electro into one beautiful, symphonic melding would take a musician of astounding creativity. To send such a bittersweet piece of auditory splendor to gently rock against your eardrums would take a messenger with an angelic voice and a deft musical hand. Luckily, Talain Rayne encompasses all of these things, and he’s brought together every facet of his innate talent to create the track “Twinkle Lightly (Reprise).” The original “Twinkle Lightly” is a track off of his debut album Attic Lights, a coffeehouse styled assortment of alt-pop and piano-rock, swathed in soft synthesizers. While “Twinkle Lightly” is a minimalist, two-minute cut of alternative electronica, its reprise pulses with the strength and intensity of a full-fledged, radio-ready single.

Gentle keys pitter-patter through the nursery-like tune, lightly tempering the pang of longing that runs like an undercurrent through the track. Talain’s soulful croon breaks through the instrumentation, spinning gorgeous songwriting against the mourning melody, “And I know you’re my friends, and I know it’s the end, and I know it’s the end, yeah. So twinkle lightly.” Rayne’s voice billows into a soothing falsetto, as the song breaks into a soundscape of sweet harmonies, marching percussion, and euphoric ambience. Rayne sparks a fire of stalwart faith amongst the epic, building orchestration, facing the world with courage and love blazing in his heart. “Twinkle Lightly” burns with stunning, emotive finality, but brings with it the bright hope of a new beginning. Check out the simple yet spectacular music video above, and watch another music video for it below. The video below was done by YouTube sensation Nanalew, who also made a short video for Talain Rayne’s song “Lemonbright.” Listen. Love. Twinkle Lightly.