Song · Aqualung
“Brighter Than Sunshine” by Aqualung
From the album Still Life (2003)
“Brighter Than Sunshine” by Aqualung appears on 11 radio countdowns from 9 stations between 2005 and 2026. It was first released in 2003 on the album Still Life. Its best result is #52 on the Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2006. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #150 alternative song of 2006.
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"Brighter Than Sunshine" was the first single from Still Life, the 2003 album by Aqualung, the stage name of Matt Hales, and it's a piano ballad that aims straight for the heart and mostly lands there. Hales produced it with Jacknife Lee, the producer behind Snow Patrol, playing the piano himself over Paul Winter-Hart's drums, with Ben Hales on guitar and tambourine and Stephen Harris handling the mix.
Allmusic put it in the same league as Coldplay and Keane, and the BBC's reviewer called it an uplifting anthem. It kept finding new ears after the fact: it was folded into the 2005 compilation Strange and Beautiful and played its part in the romantic comedy A Lot like Love, Cold Case and Schitt's Creek.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 86 | Y100 Philadelphia, PA | Y100 Top 150 Songs of 2005 | 150 |
| 2005 | 65 | 102.7 WEQX Southern Vermont and the Capital District of New York (Albany) | WEQX Top 102.7 of 2005 | 103 |
| 2005 | 318 | ModernRock.com Online | ModernRock.com Top 400 Songs of 2005 | 400 |
| 2006 | 52 | Live 105 San Francisco, CA | Live 105 Top 105.3 Songs of 2006 | 106 |
| 2006 | 92 | WFNX Boston, MA | WFNX Top 100 Songs of 2006 | 100 |
| 2006 | 75 | WBER Rochester, NY | WBER Listener Countdown 2006 | 159 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 784 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 2000s | 907 |
| 2024 | 618 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs of the 21st Century | 1055 |
| 2025 | 863 | The Current | 893 Essential Songs of The Current: 2005 to Now | 893 |
| 2025 | 855 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the 21st Century | 909 |
| 2026 | 842 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 1055 Songs You Discovered on The Colorado Sound | 1055 |
Also listed as: Brighter than Sunshine.
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