Temperance (A Censored Sunlight song)

Temperance, the debut single from A Censored Sunlight from his album Bloodlines, was released worldwide on August 15, 2011. The song was inspired by his parents' recent divorce, and the lyrical elements reflect that. The song was written by Sunlight alone, and was produced by Liz Berg

Background
Temperance was released during the summer of 2011, the first of Nick Malone's singles to be released under the pseudonym of A Censored Sunlight. Sunlight sings in high tenor from the first person point of view, addressing the divorce of his parents almost like a lover.

"I got asked a lot if Temperance was like about some relationship I had with a girl, but when I say 'you' on record, I'm actually referring to how my family used to be. I missed it, and I wouldn't let how I felt go unnoticed."

Critical Reception
Temperance was released to mostly positive reviews. New York blog iMergeAndSee responded positively.

"You know the phrase simple yet effective? Well that phrase perfectly describes “Temperance”, the new single from A Censored Sunlight: a project founded by multi-instrumentalist and songwriter Nick Malone. The track is nothing more than a vocalist accompanied by a piano, yet it has more impact on the listener than some songs featuring a full orchestra or band."

Sunlight was criticized for his lack of diction throughout the song, however, and the song went on to generate a large amount of Soundcloud plays and iTunes downloads.

Music Video
The music video for Temperance was posted on YouTube on Cinco de Mayo of 2012. It begins to depict an objective view of Malone's everyday life, including short clips of his friends, his home, and live performances. Malone describes the first half of the video:

"None of my family was directly music-oriented, but I grew up in a very artsy household. In some of my home movies from when I was really young, my dad would focus the camera on just my mouth, and he'd like interview me or ask me to smile or whatever. Even when I couldn't walk or speak, my parents would blast Dave Brubeck and dance me around. The presentation definitely wasn't typical. I wanted to put that whole vibe on the first half."

Once this ends, a handful of monologues from Malone ensues. These all describe Sunlight's view on life, including the fervid want to "die beautiful" and make sure that he's "the superstar worth focusing on." Sunlight describes the second half of the music video as the manifestation of the "universal superstar mentality."

"What I wanted to do after that [the first half] was take off the layer that said I was just an everyday teenager, and show that there's so much more to me than there is at first glance. I have this whole underlying philosophy that I take into account with everything I do. We all have that superstar metality, and in that way, we're all superstars, but it's up to you that you make sure people know you're worth focusing on."

The video is yet to be critically reviewed.

Credits
Nick Malone p/k/a A Censored Sunlight - writer, pianist, vocals

Liz Berg - producer, background vocals, guitar