I've come to the conclusion recently that that there are two general paths for music to take. One form is aimed at your conscious mind. This form is often lyric heavy, and goes for an immediate impact. Top 40 music Ala Britney Spears is an example of this type when it's done poorly. A well executed example is Tom Petty. It's hook laden, catchy and goes into 'repeat' mode in your head almost immediately.
The other form is aimed at your unconscious mind. It may have melodies, or not, lyrics, or not. It may have an epic feel or a simple one. But it's impact is often not felt immediately, and the context in which you hear it is vital to the impression it gives. Good examples of this include Sigur Ros, Radiohead or Dead Can Dance. It's music from these bands that seeps in like a half-forgotten dream. It's doesn't demand to be repeated so much as it haunts you later, hanging around at the back of your brain like an itch you can't scratch. Of course, the bad version of this music is known as Muzak.
The band {{{Sunset}}} definitely falls into the unconscious realm. A friend of mine, Elhaam, sent me over a couple of their albums. Her timing on giving me these is oddly serendipitous because even as recently as a year ago, I wouldn't have given this ten minutes of my time. I was still DJ'ing and my brain seemed to simply not notice things that weren't beat driven.
Neither Bright Blue Dream nor The Glowing City are beat driven, that's for sure. And it's not 2007, and I haven't been DJ'ing for awhile now. So when I put on {{{Sunset}}} (we're getting a lot of bands that include symbols in their name lately, aren't we?), I took it in with more open ears. I let it just wash over me, without looking for a dance floor single.
The band, headed up by Austin's Bill Baird, produced their stuff through Autobus records, which apparently operates closer to the concept of a commune than a record label. Along with that comes a touch of 'dirty hippie' feel to the band that sometimes creeps in("New York Love" for example). For the most part, they keep that in check though.
There's a huge roster of artists that have contributed to their sound and it shows. Every track is lush and thick with ideas and instrumentation. I kept trying to latch on to their 'sound' with each track, trying hopelessly to fix a label on them. Psychadelia, shoegaze, experimental, all seemed to fail. I do like one that I haven't heard in awhile: dreampop. I think dreampop covers them nicely.
If dreampop doesn't really do anything for you, I can say that I can hear influences in them ranging from The Birds to Lou Reed to the Beatles to the Grateful Dead to Radiohead to...well, the list could get long( The song "Twenty Four Karat Soul" sounds like Pulp at it's best). My point in all this is that {{{Sunset}}} is a band that, listened to in the wrong context would not only be forgettable, it might be off putting. I often think of music in terms of cinema; Music and film have similar structures, concepts and goals. I think {{{Sunset}}} have a very specific cinematic world they live in, and to play them out of that world would be jarring. What cinematic world do they live in? One that occupies a montage during a Wes Anderson film or a closing credit sequence during a British romantic comedy or a long cross country drive is playing out during a Jim Jarmusch film.
{{{Sunset}}} has it's weaknesses. There's a fine line between 'ambient' and 'droning' and there a few times that they cross that line ( The two minute ending to "Man's Heart Complaint is a prime example). Also, as cohesive albums, I don't think there's a strength here. Of course, as individual tracks it actually becomes a positive. Each song is it's own world, it's own atmosphere. And maybe that's okay in the 21st Century. Maybe singles are the new albums.
Regardless, my suggestion for listening to this band is this: put on an album while you are doing something else. Ignore it. Let it play through twice. On the second play through, something will stop you from whatever you are doing and you'll pay attention. That's the {{{Sunset}}} song that your unconscious wants you to hear. The rest, you can feel free to discard or not. I have a feeling that's the way the band feels too: "Here's what we've got. Take what you like, leave the rest."
MP3: {{{Sunset}}} - Twenty Four Karat Soul
Purchase through their website: {{{Sunset}}}
