by Dan Goldin (@post_trash_)
A perennial underground favorite for nearly a decade, Sun Organ have been reshaping their sound in a constant state of sludgy pop expansion. The band, led by Tim Jordan, create what could be considered shoegaze on the exterior, but there’s a great deal of evolution from record to record, at times pushed to all out density, playing heavy and swarming, while often the band opt for a more deliberate and nuanced hush. The recordings are as much about atmosphere and texture as they are warped distortion and volume. With the band’s sixth album, Candlelight Showertime, due out May 5th via Julia’s War (Community College, Swim Camp, Bedridden) and BLIGHT. Records (Ruah, Tadzio, Nyxy Nyx), Jordan and co. continue to expand their pallet, adding a deeper sense of subtlety and a stronger emphasis on detailed lyrics. Always a group effort, Jordan is joined throughout the record by a wealth of Philly’s finest and frequent collaborators, including Dan Angel (Ugh God, Gunk), Pat Conaboy (Golden Apples, Yankee Bluff), Benjamin Schurr (Luna Honey, Ruah), Rachel Gordon (Nine of Swords, Greg Electric), and Brian Reichert (Nyxy Nyx), each musician contributing in favor of the greater whole.
“Swallowed In Waves,” the record’s first single is the centerpiece of the album, one of the heavier moments Candlelight Showertime has to offer. While not bludgeoning by any means, there’s an emotional and sonic weight to the song that feels both airy yet cumbersome, floating one moment and trudging the next. The intro is slow, nasty, and dense, as sludgy as shoegaze tends to tread, but as the dirge parts way, the verses and their harmonized vocals lift the atmosphere into a foggier sort of haze. There’s no escape from the dark shadows that cover the entirety of the song as Jordan laments the end of days. Guitars ring out, chords are bent and pulled, and the entire thing churns on with the inevitable fate of dread.