Sonnymoon
– The Courage Of Present Times
CD
/ DL
Out
Now
8.5
/ 10
Experimental
Boston duo release their new album.
Any
fans of ‘strange’ will love Sonnymoon.
From the opening squidgy synth sounds of Blue and the dreamy, druggy
vocals of Anna Wise you’re completely hooked and whirling around in a sea of
sounds from which you just want to drown in.
As
well as being on the slightly off-kilter side, the opening track is also
immensely addictive. The repeated hook
is nothing short of an earworm of the loveliest kind and the overall cohesion
is quite brilliant.
Wise’s
voice is like a combination of classic soul mixed with psychedelic undertones
and gelled together with a modern Indie twist.
The backing of Dane Orr is full of surprises as the offbeat sounds of
SNS combine with ebbing water and staggered beats.
On
recent single, Grains Of Friends the album absolutely sparkles. Almost empty bar a potentially funk bassline
and interspersed with the most delicate of notes it incorporates backwards
sounding voices and soundbytes. Wise
contributes via a dance theme and one of the most infectious tunes of the year
is born.
The
Courage Of Present Times is eerie make no mistake. For Right Now is haunting to say the least
and the production is nothing short of inspirational. The instrumental captures the mood of
Sonnymoon perfectly as the crisp, clinical track transforms simple beats into
cosmic sounds.
As
the eccentricity continues with the ironically titled Pop Music, it’s maybe
re-assuring to know that both Wise and Orr are classically trained, but the way
in which each track is formed is perhaps testament to that background. In the hands of someone slightly less
equipped, Pop Music would sound a mess – in the hands of Sonnymoon it sounds divine.
Just
when all seems weird, Sex For Clicks provides a piano only interlude which is
seemingly ‘normal’ and it works. The
Only Face borders on House at times but yet again they manage to make the track
completely completely unique. Banks of
towering vocals overlap sounding lie a group of backing singers and bass lines
begin to throb.
It’s
a relatively short album clocking in at just over thirty minutes, but in those
nine tracks the listener is taken on a trip around the universe. Around the
universe because surely Sonnymoon aren’t from this planet. Their music tries its best to transcend
gender and often succeeds. This is one
of those ‘must hear’ albums.
Links
Sonnymoon website
Sonnymoon on Twitter
Sonnymoon on Facebook
Published on Louder Than War 5/06/15 - here
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