Album Review: When we were us

The indie rock scene can get pretty obscure. It can be as main stream as Beck or as obscure as this band. The SunS is a band that was started in Chicago in 2009. As a relatively underground band their music cannot be found on ITunes, but rather must be bought on bandcamp.com. When we were us is their first full length album that they have ever made. They have around 4 Eps out from their earlier stages. But who are The SunS and what is it about their sound that should attract a listener?

The first word that comes to mind when thinking about this band is full bodied. The sound that they produce is multilayered and rich with a vast variety of instruments.  One of the things that make this band sound so full is that they have two full drum sets. This allows for a rib rattling sound and complex rhythms that make the music have life of its own.

They have multiple singers; however instead of creating harmony through the voices, they save the musical complexities for the instruments. With the singers holding simple and catchy melodies the instruments are allowed to improvise and play around the harmonic structure.

Another thing that makes this band unique is the fact that everyone seems to switch around. If a person plays one instrument, they most likely play two more. It is common for one of the drummers to switch to synthesizer in the middle of the piece.

When it comes to the actual acoustics of the guitar they tend to use a very rough sound. They love to get into the nitty gritty of the sound. All of these musical elements together create an ethereal and heady listening experience.

One of the cool things about this album is the fact that they flow from song to song with no break. This blurring of the lines in between songs makes the listener lose track of time as they listen to this album. The way the album is set up has a nice ebb and flow that lulls the listener into the universe of the album itself. This is truly a fulfilling music listening experience. If you want to try it out, go to their bandcamp and you can listen to it for free.