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Record Reviews

Sundowner | We Chase The Waves

01.05.11

Asian Man Records

In some rare cases, the formula can have a pay off. Andy Warhol capitalized on this. Even Blink-182 made some catchy tunes using a pop-punk formula. Sadly, Sundowner’s We Chase The Sun was not one of those rare cases. A ten song full length from songwriter Chris McCaughan, the album sounds like a first attempt at folk with a singer-songwriter twist.

Packed from front to back with the same four chord campfire sing-alongs , I’d say at a general overview this album is very weak. Songs seamlessly flow into each other without any pause for change up in tonal, lyrical, or music direction. I fought my way through each song, only to be greeted with what appeared to be a doppelganger of a tune on the next track.

The only detail that piqued my interest was that this album was recorded primarily live at a local street corner in Chicago. The down side is that I think this completely open aired and carefree approach to the album could have led to its downfall, in songwriting quality control and in approach. The strongest song, although, is “Jewel of The Midwest” a fast paced folk romp which in essence captures the overall album with its nostalgic lyrics and neo-roots feel… We Chase The Sun does have a healthy dose of energy, and conviction in its delivery, but sadly this remains a “I’ve heard this all before” album.

-Nikolaus Bartunek

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myspace.com/thesundownermusic
asianmanrecords.com

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January 5th, 2011 | Category: Record Reviews

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