Sun In Sound – Album Review
One of the perks of writing about music is that you get exposed to music you would never hear otherwise. Take Sun In Sound for instance. This quirky little band hails from Norway and I probably would never have heard of them if it weren’t for this job. They tag themselves as big beat/electroacoustic/swing and there are elements of all three, however, the largest part of this music seems to be imbued by Pink Floyd and Abbey Road-era Beatles. Not too sure I would agree with swing because most people would think of the big band era which is definitely not what this is. If they mean swing as in swing rhythm then yes, it is swing.
The album starts with Sun In Sounds a song whose disharmony is played out in a sparse arrangement of bent guitar lines and vocals that eventually lead to a tense outro that never really has a satisfactory resolution. II is mostly an instrumental that ends with a speaking voice much like on Pink Floyd’s album The Wall. It starts out with a lot of distortion and synth but then progresses into a darkly menacing rhythm that wouldn’t sound out of place on the original Hunchback of Notre Dame soundtrack. It is a very unsettling piece that gives you no relief. The Landscape Doesn’t Match is a mix of Jack White vocals, Abbey Road-era (especially the song Because) guitar, and a 40s inspired background vocal. It sounds weird writing it down but it works.
The best thing about this album is the fact that so many styles are incorporated that on paper you would think wouldn’t work but in practice work rather well. Up North starts with a Japanese-style guitar that leads into a latin beat with vocals straight from the 40s. The 50s style Buddy Holly guitar riff in the chorus adds yet another texture that you would think would sound out of place but actually fits the song very well.
I liked this weird little collection of songs a lot. The songs were interesting with lots of colour and variety. The vocals were dark and at times a bit campy but suited the material well. Sigurd Vik, Magnus Ressem, Øystein Borgen & Håkon Aaltvedt have put their collective talents to good use and have made an album that stands out as something completely different and original. There isn’t much info about Sun In Sound that I could find but you can go to their MySpace to look around. This album isn’t for sale on iTunes but you can purchase it, on vinyl or mp3, through their website.
Sun In Sound – Up North
Sun In Sound – Volga Trade Route
Tags: album
