Bright Shining Lights - The Sun Is A Star

​Bright Shining Lights

The Sun Is A Star
self-released; 2025

By Dan Weston

Bright Shining Lights’ The Sun Is a Star reaches for the heavens with both hands. The New Jersey duo Art C. Gusmano and Rob Maru return nearly five years after their debut with a sprawling sixteen-track record that plays like a meditation on scale, grief, and transcendence. There is ambition everywhere here, not just in the length of the album but in the way it carries itself. It wants to be more than a rock record, and often it succeeds. Both musicians came up in the ’90s with the local outfit Wellcurbs, and their shared obsession with film and sound design still shapes everything they do. This album feels cinematic in structure, like a long voyage through space where every song is another galaxy waiting to be explored.

“Go For Launch” opens the record and sets the emotional tone immediately. It is slow, patient, and full of melancholy. The vocals sound almost ceremonial, surrounded by white noise, soft pads, and an eventual rhythm that gives it a heartbeat. The song demands your attention and establishes the record’s sense of gravity. From there, The Sun Is a Star keeps moving deeper into its own atmosphere. “Weightless” blends choral synths, piano, and hazy textures that reminded me of Auburn Lull’s ability to turn ambience into emotion. “Let’s Build a House Beside the Moon” is more grounded but still drenched in reverb, giving the song an enormous, cosmic quality.

By the time “It’s Full of Stars” arrives, the album is at full scale. The song feels like an early M83 moment which is grand, emotional, and slightly theatrical. “Drift” brings the project back toward rock territory but keeps its head in the clouds, leaning into reverb and atmosphere instead of sharp edges. One of my favorite moments comes with “Dreaming of Sheep,” which builds on a hypnotic groove that recalls the intricate layering of Jon Hopkins. It is a brief reprieve from the album’s heavier stretches and one of its most dynamic tracks.

As the record progresses, its mood rarely lifts. The songs are heavy and introspective, carried by slow movements and a constant search for transcendence. “Black Hole” stands out for its warmth, a rare point of light in the darkness. “Alien” uses inventive sound design and subtle granular effects to create something strange and beautiful, while “The Door Is Ajar” closes the experience with a blend of vocals and synth pads that feels like the final dissolve of consciousness.

​The Sun Is a Star is dramatic, ambitious, and emotionally dense. It reminded me at times of Nick Cave and Sigur Rós, artists who chase the sublime through sorrow. The music leans into the absurd in an Albert Camus type of way and stares into the void. It might not be a top choice for your workout playlist but in the right type of mood can be exactly what you want. 

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