I was excited to hear The Sun Machine by Taber because I was already familiar with their other project entitled The Disgruntled Sherpa Project. The formation consisting of Joe Boylan, Walt Mamaluy, Matt Jules Rhine and Jimmy Nichol is off to a great start.
I would broadly categorize this music in the indie rock category but even that feels like a stretch. The band dips into other genres some of which feel completely unexpected. You can hear some alt-country, folk and even some funk. They open with “Despite of it All” which starts off with a whistle and very chill vibe. It’s melodic and the vocalist laments about heartache. The song builds with a swell of horns. It’s a good opener that lets you slowly submerge into the pool of their sound. I’m a sucker for the types of songs that say the new year is going to be better. “In The New Year” by The Walkmen is one of my all time favorite songs. “This Year's Gonna Be Better” is the highlight on the album. There is warm melancholy here and a vocal melody that is absolutely sing-along worthy. The melody is repetitive but it works. “Pain Killer” has some ’70s swag and also late ’60s folk mixed in there as well. The vocals are more spoken word at times with this song and the chorus screams late ’60s rock. I was thrown off by the more mechanical and electronic sounding “Blood From a Vein.” It felt like a different band and I can’t say it had the same emotional impact on me as most of the other songs. “Cowboy Chords” is a short folk song. The vocals might be de-tuned here. It sounded similar to something you would hear on 69 Love Songs by Magnetic Fields in terms of sentiment, length and delivery. “Rain Bird” has its moments and is yearning love ballad while “Let it All Fall” had ’70s quality to it not too far from Elton John. “Honolulu Holiday” sounds like the title but also felt like another hard right turn in another direction. “That is That” is the closer and the most ambitious and experimental song with play with organic and electronic instrumentation. The band seems to throw a lot of different styles on the wall. The first three songs felt like their strongest to me and felt like a foundation they could build other albums or songs off of. This is a strong but diverse album. It will be interesting to hear where they go from here. Recommended.
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May 2024
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