Cosmos Sunshine’s new CD Comes With The Fall finds the Connecticut indie rock artist being very independent of what everyone else is trying in Connecticut. Sunshine makes the most of his class rock influences and spreads them across the breadth, depth, and width of this fine piece of work.
“Doomsman Of The Year” opens the disc with an Eastern flavored guitar and sitar duo. The brief piece catches the ear with its finger tapped notes and drone. It opens the mind for “The Bomb,” a down tempo swagger loaded with alluring flute notes. Sunshine’s raspy drawl contrasts well with playful flute notes. In the back drop a creative electric guitarist gets eccentric but accessible.
“Letdown” gets it starchy energy from a rippling rhythm guitar. Lead and harmony vocals sweep across a mesh of classic rock instrumentation with swaggering aplomb. The angst in the male lead vocal reminds of all the great garage bands of the 1970s. One can easily imagine Cosmos Sunshine and his band opening for Television at CBGB. One cannot help but to tap one’s toes or to nod one’s head to the simple but assured driving rock going on here.
The more mellow “Mockingbird” is built upon a tastefully restrained acoustic guitar and the gentle vocal approach of Cosmos Sunshine. Mayu Saeki’s mellifluous flute melody travels the length of this song while adding its own gentle message. This tune is an invitation to join these artists at a private party.
Cosmos Sunshine cranks things up with the edgy “Black Eyed Soul.” Sunshine’s raw, emotive vocal recalls all of the local bands who tried to make an impression in the 1970s with local recording studios. There is something so earnest and sincere about this song that it shines within its simplicity. One hears this tune one time and wants to add it to a mix tape and to play it at many parties. This tune eventually moves into an extended workout of rhythm guitar crunch and lead guitar cleverness. All that guitar gruel could make Sunshine Cosmos one of their local favorites in the Connecticut music scene.
Carried foreword with a cutesy, understated guitar riff, “Sink Or Swim” skitters across the listener’s consciousness as Cosmos Sunshine’s lead guitar line peaks when it races gloriously ahead of its rhythm section. Craig Robison’s electric bass and Jeremy Caristedt drum work nudges thing forward with a nimble talent as the electric guitar skitters across that smooth but pushy landscape.
“California Smile” gets it soul from the organ work from Michael Parrish. Parrish keeps a soulful boil just beneath the surface of this tune. It serves as perfect foil to a mellow lead vocal and Beatlesque rhythm guitar line. This track, like many others on this disc, but more so, might remind one of the kind of bands they might have been hearing in recordings of major artist while those artists were up and coming.
Tile track “Comes With The Fall” burst in with rapid drum fills and catchy guitar riffs. Sunshine’s running rasp coats the song with something cool before an instrumental break fills the sonic landscape with fun, garage excess. This one makes it on a spinning top kind of energy, something that has to play itself out before it crashes.
“Hobbit Rock” Finds Cosmos Sunshine unleashing several on target guitar riffs and lead lines that run like the rapids to God knows where. Mayu Saeki’s flute, much speedier here, darts through this hard rock landscape with a sharpness that enhances the tune while matching wit’s with the lead guitar. An instrumental break cuts through things like a diamond on glass, with a juicy fun 1960s influenced sound.
Cosmos Sunshine close out their disc with “Even,” a down tempo movement packed with nifty lead guitar touches and tight harmony vocals. Sunshine’s repeated chorus on the ride out catches our attention with its neurotic repetitions.
Recorded, mixed, and co-produced by Tracy Walton at his Northfield, Connecticut On Deck Sound Studio, Cosmos Sunshine has managed, on this disc, to mesh classic rock vocals, garage band impulses, and even a few harmony vocal influences. This disc could go over well with stoners looking for something to get high to or to classic rock aficiandos who would enjoy throwing themselves into the task of trying to identify exactly what inspired each piece. The production value makes it something that sounds good, from the lead vocal to the electric guitar parts to that elusive but tangible flute sound.
http://www.cosmossunshinemusic.com/
