Their Bated Breath - Album Review

ON YOUR RADAR: Son of the Sun is a band that won’t be toiling in regional obscurity for long. Zak Ward coos softly, sounding a bit like Coldplay’s Chris Martin. His band will undoubtedly receive all kinds of comparisons, from Interpol to The Kinks and the Kings of Leon. But maybe Son of the Sun more closely resemble a combo of Brit-rock and San Francisco’s Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. This Buffalo, N.Y band is built around Ward’s gorgeous voice, layers of textured harmonies and lots of guitar delay. The most impressive thing about Son of the Sun’s new record, “The Happy Loss”, is how comfortable it all sounds, considering the number of genres the band pulls together. They mix Americana, psychedelia, alt-country and guitar-groove rock with a garage-rock sensibility. Sometimes the kitchen-sink approach makes an album feel like it isn’t unified. But this doesn’t happen on “The Happy Loss”. Son of the Sun have melded all those elements into their own unique style. This is a band with serious commercial appeal, that still maintains a high level of songcraft. Ward sings achingly about relationships, loss and love: “And I will take you out tonight / Wear your leopard-print / And I will sing the song for us / I haven’t tired of that yet / I hope you’re not tired of that yet.” The album-closer “Tell Me” might be the only misstep on this record. It’s a 50s-styled slow-waltz closer with chimes, that feels lyrically light and a bit too perfect of an album wind-down. But that’s hardly a complaint. This is a great debut album.  
– David D. Robbins Jr. (Artwork uses band cover photo.)

From Son of the Sun Blog