Often, with seemingly hundreds of bands bursting onto the scene all at once, the only way to describe one from the other is by hopelessly comparing or combining dozens together to get the most accurate idea.
Unfortunately, it is not everyday that one is able to come across a band that will not only leave you impressed by their sound, but actually completely dumbfounded as to how to explain it.
Enter: Apollo Sunshine.
One thing to try and keep in mind while listening to Apollo Sunshine’s latest release is to forget even trying to list the band’s influences you will catch along the way-from start to finish, their self-titled sophomore effort shatters the musical spectrum so that nearly every genre radiates from the album’s thirteen tracks.
After a long two years since releasing their debut album, “Katonah,” the Boston quartet returns with a mesmerizing record heavily laced with an eclectic atmosphere that will swarm onto even the casual listener’s ears. Opening with “Flip!” the band quickly (and literally) establishes that this as an entirely different record than the last with vocalist Jesse Gallagher proclaiming through the first lines on the record, “Now I’m on the other side of the world.” From there, the band continues to embrace the knowledge that each member learned while studying at the Berklee College of Music and utilizing dozens of different instruments to create their own sound, as well as some wild experimentation with various tunings. There is even a pedal steel thrown in for good measure on a few of the tracks.
The band has become known for its complex rhythm patterns and three-part harmonies as many have seen throughout the band’s relentless touring schedule and now, with “Apollo Sunshine,” they have only taken their songs that much further with numerous rapid time-signature changes and a unique pop dynamic that does not let the listener stray in their mood very far at all. Instead, the band is constantly drenching your speakers and/or headphones in its own anomalous sounds and a sometimes eerie entrancement that can especially be heard on the album’s second track, “Ghost.”
Other standout tracks include “Phony Maroney,” with its avant garde guitar riffs and nonstop percussion courtesy of Sam Cohen and Jeremy Aaron Black respectively, as well as “Magnolia” with its disturbingly catchy and downright sing-songy verses: “Once brought home a woman/now she’s sent me back/Just here for a visit/won’t even unpack.” Don’t be surprised if you suddenly imagine yourself right in the middle of an Irish pub.
While veteran fans will have no problem settling into this album just fine, the major testament to the band’s talent is that it is not strictly for one “scene” or another-but that there is literally something for everyone on this album. Such is a feat that many bands are simply unable to accomplish as well as this album does.
