Sun June returns with their spectacle of a sophomore release, Somewhere (via Run for Cover Records). The Austin, Texas five-piece’s album is covered in glowing synth sounds, sparkling guitars, and multi-instrumentalist Laura Colwell’s endless voice. Their self-proclaimed ‘regret pop’ songs teeter between loss and longing while sharing love in the same way.
Somewhere is more distinct than the ‘L’ words though. It’s rich with themes of progression in all of its gradations. Colwell and guitarist Stephen Salisbury formed Sun June and recorded their debut, Years, live to tape with the rest of the band. On their new record, pop arrangements with chord movements often arpeggiated or strummed slowly by guitars show just how deliberate Sun June is.
The expressive opener, “Bad with time,” starts with Colwell’s call for the rest of the band to join in before they drop out for her to quote a part of Neil Young’s “Unknown Legend.”
“Everything I had” chugs along before breaking out into pauses held out by ambiance. Colwell sings, “Everything I had / I want it back.” The instrumentals sit around the lyrics extremely well and create plenty of space on the album.
Sun June mentioned this release to be their “prom record.” The relationship to it musically lies in the experience of the moment and the continuation of the night. There is no single feeling to encompass the frisson of it all. The band explains that the songs show you, “all the highs and all the lows.”
“Finding Out” approaches the album’s potency. At 1:28, Colwell’s voice takes over. The intimacy of the song at that point guides you through the rest of it – the way it explodes into a resolution and we hear, “Why you do it to me,” repeated as both a mantra and a question.
From the beginning of the album, I immediately knew the intent for it. Each song is a discovery and a recollection of a space where the last thing you did felt potent because you were there – somewhere.
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