Dominic Lavoie is a longtime local musician based in Portland. He’s been recording a blend of psychedelic folk rock since the mid-2000s, as both a solo act and frontperson for Dominic and The Lucid. In 2008, the latter released the album “Season of the Sun,” home to the optimistic tune “Be In Love.”

Earlier this week, Lavoie released a new recording because he felt like the time was right to revisit it. “The collective anxiety and self-disconnected feelings we’re dealing with right now needs some countering, and recording this song felt like something I could do to soothe that a bit. It’s a simple message at a time when things are very complex. We all need to work a little extra at being kind and patient with each other,” said Lavoie.

Music fans might also appreciate that the new version of “Be in Love” was recorded on 1-inch tape and you can see the reel to reel machine behind Lavoie in the video. “It’a 16-track Tascam machine from the ’80s. The audio signal from my guitar and vocal mic are running to that machine imprinting to the tape in real-time. No computers, which felt like the right process for this song in 2020,” Lavoie said.

The song feels particularly relevant right now, with lines like this: “Hey hey, we’re out of our minds to be in this bind, in this age and time/And I’ve been around the world once or twice before but the answer ain’t found in seeking more, I promise you this.”