"Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier" - Sun Airway (2010)

While roaming over to the generously shaded Blue Stage on a steamy Saturday afternoon at Pitchfork Festival, I was trying to remember what Sun Airway sounded like. I remember briefly scanning over music from all the bands listed for the festival, when they were announced, and that Sun Airway struck me as poppy psych-rock. As this unassuming band from Philadelphia took the stage, I was eager to hear if my assessment was fair and most importantly if they were worth my time. The next 50 minutes showcased a polished product from a band that exuded a quiet confidence and skillful precision found in only the most accomplished and dedicated modern acts.

In a live setting, Sun Airway strip away their electronic reverbed production from the album and give lead singer Jon Barthmus a cushion of gliding guitars and subdued drums that allows him to showcase his confident and earnest falsetto. He struck me vocally at Pitchfork as a doppelganger for The Walkmen's Hamilton Leithauser; I get that from the album as well, but I also get Panda Bear and Julian Casablancas (but without the pretentiousness). The first album I went to listen to with my new Spotify account was this one and I keep coming back to it for pure blissful enjoyment. To me, this music hovers in a cloud of indie rock, psych-pop, and electronic, but there is also this unexplainable element that I find keeps swallowing me up when I listen to it. Maybe one of you can put a finger on it, when you listen to Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, which is one of the weirdest album titles in recent memory. Between their live performance and this album, Sun Airway have thoroughly impressed me, so much that I wanted to share it with all of you.

Favorite Tracks: Infinity, American West, Swallowed By the Night, Waiting On You, Shared Piano, Put the Days Away, Five Years