Labelled ‘surfer dude rockers,’ British-Australian band Sunset Sons brought their summery sound to Manchester on Tuesday for an unforgettable, sold-out midweek show.
By the time I arrived, the Jimmy’s basement was already pretty busy- I was just in time for support band Natural Mystery Museum, who easily captured the venue with a powerful mixture of rock and roll, fuelled with distortion and infectious riffs. The venue continued to fill steadily and the audience were all grouped around the stage and were absorbing every note of the bands music. The band played their debut single “Dead Friends,” which was only released last week and will be quickly followed by their first EP “Volume 0,” which is going to be released on Friday (28 June 2019).
It began with an electrifying opening, the lights were flashing, energetic riffs took over the room and the audience were more than excited to see Sunset Sons. The group began with “Eyes Wide Open,” a currently unreleased song but none-the-less it captivated the audience effortlessly. “Bring The Bright Lights” continued the set, the song provoked a sing along from the the audience who were humming the hooking line along with the band. Next up, oldie “She Wants,” continued the sing-along, the band then went on to play “Problems,” the track was released earlier this year and features a contagious rhythm and catchy lyrics, backed by twinkling synth lines. This song stands out as one of my favourites, with more layers to the music than some of their older tracks and I couldn’t help but sing along even though the band are pretty new to me, but I was quickly becoming a fan. “Say Hi” is the bands latest release, and like “Problems” the music is more layers and incorporates more synth effects and dynamic tones, creating depth in the music.
Throughout the set the atmosphere only continued to grow, the room was animated, with every track that was played the audience immersed themselves deeper, they were singing and dancing for the whole gig as a liveliness bounced around the room, jumping between the crowd and band- who were equally enjoying themselves.
The set was closed by “The River,” beginning with piano chords and fronted by a powerful vocal, the track builds as the rest of the band join in. Of course, nobody wanted the band to leave the stage so it was lucky they had a three-song encore planned.
“Dance Your Life Away” is slower and featuring heartfelt lyrics which seized the room with an emotive mood. Picking up the pace, “Somewhere Maybe” was next, this song was featured on the 2016 album “Very Rarely Say Die,” then “On The Road” another from the debut album, closed the night. Like many of their older tracks, the lyrics are almost spoken and they slip into a melodic, sing-along chorus with anthemic backing music. The night ended with the crowd going crazy, the atmosphere could’ve easily filled a much larger room and I’m sure it will one day soon.
Towards the end of the gig the band teased an autumn tour and a possible upcoming album, leaving the audience with something to look forward to.
Tags: review / sunset sons