Dominic Fike is "Dancing in the Courthouse"

Dominic Fike has officially made his triumphant return to the world of solo music, seemingly throwing his hat in the ring for the yearly unspoken competition which could be titled, 2023 Song of the Summer. Fike’s entry into the race is “Dancing in the Courthouse”, a sunny new single that’s practically begging to be put on full-blast, accompanied by ice cream melting onto fingers and the tangy aroma of sunscreen. 

The track kicks off with an easy strummed melody, something that invokes the feeling of nostalgia and haze that comes with gazing over your shoulder at past summers as Fike laments, “Weather controls your day…” Ah, that it does. It isn’t long, though, before he begins preaching “But we make the ground our grave by layin' in it / We make our problems fade by facin' 'em / We make the wind our wings by raisin' your arms / At the top of the world, yeah” before the percussion picks up and we arrive at the chorus, Fike’s voice stretching over jubilant horns. 

The tune clocks in at just under two minutes and forty seconds, and it accomplishes what seems to be its goal – sparking joy. It’s an airy tune that reminds listeners of the days you couldn’t walk by any body of water without hearing Social House and Lil Yachty’s “Handshake in the Hamptons”, or even back to Bryce Vine’s “Sour Patch Kids”. 

Is it Fike’s most profound or impressive work to date? No, but that’s not the purpose it serves – it’s joyful, and that’s enough for the sunny days we so desperately await.