From the beginning of its slow decline from its peak in the 70s, popular music has been a series of rock revivals and re-revivals. In the early 2000s it was an 80s revival; now, only a few years later, thanks to the likes of Madonna and Britney Spears, we’re witnessing the revival of disco. Each time, they try to prove that rock music is “still rocking” while only managing with each successive copy to become worse and worse. Fortunately, to counter this we’ve witnessed the explosion of many more independent bands who haven’t yet sold their creative-souls to the devil and who actually succeed in proving rock still rocks, you just have to know how to do it. One such band is Apollo Sunshine.
Apollo Sunshine holds true to its independent nature, engaging in an avant-garde style of noise experimentation which adds to popular melody a refreshingly original feel. Similar to The Shins, it reinvokes the feel-good sensibility of The Beatles without sounding the least bit nostalgic.
Like the Beatles, it, too, is comprised of four members: Jesse Gallagher, Sam Cohen, Jeremy Black and the recently added guitarist Sean Aylward. The original trio formed while attending the Berklee College of Music and added Sean after a long string of successful show openers. Its recently released self-titled album is a joint release by spinART records and Berklee College of Music’s student run label Heavy Rotation Records.
A driving bass line opens the album with “Flip!” before the track literally flips from minor to major key, shifting styles from a darker sound to a lighter one and invoking an almost country vocal as the track moves along. The track then flips back into minor, this time adding all kinds of chimes, intriguing background vocals, and sound effects before next slowing down for piano and atmosphere. The finale is a soothing conclusion to the hurried start. This track optimizes the genre and style bending apparent throughout the album.
The lyrics of Apollo Sunshine are enjoyable, as well. They alternate nicely between the ridiculous, “And do the Phoney Maroney/To get me out of this coma/To put me back in the zone-a”, and the serious, “Words are simply a finger pointing at the moon/They’re so far away and so out of tune.” Whichever happens to be the case, they fit nicely with the music and seem so carefree, as if the lead singer is singing exactly what he’s thinking. The lyrics are thus neither cheesy nor pretentious. The band doesn’t try to achieve too much, but what it does achieve works well.
Overall, “Apollo Sunshine” is a solid album and a fun album. The varying in different styles not only keeps the listener intrigued, but will also ensure that whoever the listener might be, they’re sure to find something to like.
