Light Fantastic: Out Of View
The way to get rid of the darkness is to shine a light and I’ve got three bright ones for you this week. Kicking things off is Light Fantastic who are from San Francisco, both literally and musically. Their first full-length, Out Of View, is a perfect sunbeam of California: surfing the beach, Laurel Canyon and stoned-strolling the Haight all feel equally represented here. Jangly guitars, reverbed harmonies, folk-eats-psychedelics, it’s all in there and doesn’t work too hard to make it right.
Nightime Sunshine: Nightime Sunshine
Maybe you were a big fan of Apollo Sunshine and maybe you never got to see them, but either way, we should all be happy that Jesse Gallagher is making music like the quick set on the debut EP of his newest project Nightime Sunshine. Gallagher’s personal sound from Apollo Sunshine appears here fully intact. It’s a surprisingly sweet and thoughtful sound and these tracks bring out the best of it: timeless melodies, lyrics with some depth and just the right level of instrumentation. Each tune has been given the proper love and attention it deserves, and the result is a short-player with four potential new favorite songs and, hopefully, the promise of more to come. The album was released at the same time the Apollo Sunshine catalog was put out on streaming services, so there’s never been a better time to get some sunshine in your life.
Sun Angle: Skullflower
Portland, Oregon four-piece, Sun Angle’s new album has a skull on the cover and opens with a tune called “American Beauty.” I’m not saying that the Dead isn’t an influence, but the album, Skullflower, draws from a rather diverse background. There’s a Keith Moon energy to the drums and the music bounces between groove, trip and headbang with reckless abandon. One minute they’re in a deep drone and the next horns appear out of nowhere. It’s all rather audacious in scope with plenty of surprises throughout, succeeding more often than not.
