THE SUNFLIGHTS (click photo to listen)
The Sunflights, whose previous appearance was often made enchanting unsuspecting basement-show and dive bar dwellers, release their first EP today (FREE release show at North Star Bar 8pm along with Queen Anne and The Wild Carrot). We had the pleasure of listening to the self-titled release and were pleasantly surprised with the growth this band has achieved while still staying true to their minimalist, one-guitar-with-two-voices blueprint.
The first track, “I am a Robot” (click the photo above to listen) is our favorite of bunch; lush with a tapestry of words, harmonies, and guitar work that somehow seamlessly weave together the sentiment of the song sonically and lyrically. I have admittedly not been able to stop showing the song to whomever happens to be in my busted Toyota where this disc has been rotating since I received it. Sounding at times like a blue Joni record, and at others a taste of a slew of folk/blues and even sometimes sunny and brighter moments; this album is perfect for the schizophrenic Philadelphia weather in early November, before everything becomes definitively cold and dark, making this release date perfect for the effect of the record.
Beyond Natalie Butts and Claire Duncombe’s impressive chemistry for song-writing and harmonizing together, the Sunflights’ perhaps biggest strength is in the way the songs develop. The tempo, key, and guitar-picking style can seem to change 100 times in the song while somehow not sounding sporadic but instead more like a woven composition than the normal verse-chorus-verse acoustic folk songs that many bands of similar stylings produce. Another standout song is “The Clearing.” Similarly with the first track, the imagery in the lyrics as well as the composition of the song creates a great tune but also another testament to a definite maturation from prior demos.
So come out tonight, pick up this beautiful album (charmingly hand-crafted), and see these ladies live - you won’t regret it.
