There aren’t a lot of modern bands that genuinely feel like they’re pushing music forward. One such example comes in the form of Sungazer. Sungazer is the brainchild of Adam Neely and Shawn Crowder. Some of you may know both of them from their respective YouTube channels, but for those of you that don’t, I highly recommend checking them out. Both Crowder and Neely are accomplished musicians and educators in things related to music, with a great deal of quality material. I’ve personally been following particularly Neely’s channel avidly and it has definitely enriched my life. Neely as well as Crowder take apart a fair amount of their music on a technical and theoretical level on their respective channels, so that’s an aspect I’ll stay out of entirely throughout this review. They are in unique positions as creators and educators to make the best explanations.
So, Sungazer’s latest record, Perihelion, which is also their debut full length, is quite a sweet nudge forward in terms of sonic explorations. What I love the most about it is how it simply evades any kind of clear categorization, or rather, how it does that as opposed to just doing it. It doesn’t feel like it’s a jumble of styles made like that for the sake of blending disparate musical territories together. There’s a unifying thread across the records which makes everything feel almost unusually organic, as if it was always meant to be like this.
I guess that you could say it’s a blend between jazz, prog rock, RnB, pop, IDM, soul and EDM. I sometimes refer to these kinds of things as ‘modern fusion’, because I feel like the genre label of ‘fusion’ is somewhat antiquated in the way it’s used in the context of jazz fusion and adjacent areas, it bears a revamping of sorts, hence the result.
It’s definitely a modern approach which feels so right because there’s a clear-cut vision of the things that are wanted in the same place. I’m also quite fond of the record for giving me something to listen to in this area. While I’m fond of jazz, prog, and IDM, I’m quite distant from the rest of the things that appear throughout the music. Not to say that I dislike them, there’s always a way a style can be made to appeal to anyone as I see it. Case in point, Perihelion gives me something to chew on in the area of pop, soul, EDM, and RnB.
Another thing I love about how Perihelion is pieced together, is the complex delivery of the tunes which manages to maintain a sunny and bright mood. That’s a thing that happens quite rarely and I can’t even think of a relevant example to offer in addition to this. Usually, the complex stuff I tend to listen to is brooding or pensive at its brightest so to speak. There are plenty of intricacies throughout the record which will definitely keep the interest of the more musically savvy piqued. The record also relishes in plenty of groove and catchiness to keep everyone else on board. The lighthearted demeanor makes sure that it’s easily accessible above all.
Perihelion also features a fair deal of guest musicians, each performing varied roles on varied instruments, further enriching the already lush palette of the record. Bottom line – it’s a feel-good album which doesn’t shy away from being progressive. It’s definitely a must listen!
