ALBUM REVIEW: In The Interim – No Sun
Church Road Records have done a fair bit to write themselves a significant chapter in the storied history of shoegaze of late. This year alone one of the UK’s finest underground labels have put out stellar records from the likes of GRIVO, GRAYWAVE and LANDLORDS, and now they roll out the gazey goods once more with Salt Lake City’s NO SUN. A natural fit on the label, albeit with something of a rougher and heavier edge than that of any of the bands mentioned, their sophomore effort In The Interim refuses to let the side down.
Coming five years after their debut full-length If Only, In The Interim finds NO SUN having scaled their operations down to that of a relatively no-frills two-piece. At no point however do the potential limits of such a line-up seem to prevent the band from conjuring an altogether massive and expansive sound. Drummer Jake Morse injects a sense of weight and propulsion to much of the record, while founder Jordon Strang brings to the fore what you could probably call the two central components of NO SUN’s sound: a mixture of dreamy, ethereal vocals, and far grittier and sludgier guitar work. Of course, it all comes doused in a thick haze of reverb, with this going a long way to bringing the arguably quite disparate extremes of the band’s sound into a cohesive and inviting package.
Perhaps paradoxically given their name, there is a real warmth to In The Interim. Its floating melodies whisk listeners away with ease, while tracks like the more ambient interlude of Vanishing and the lengthy and dynamic closer Into The Light reveal the band are more than capable of delivering more delicately when they need to. The album also arrives largely unblemished by excessive production polish, with bursts of squealing feedback and the occasional scrape of a fretboard giving the record a sense of lived-in realness and vibrancy.
Beyond the tracks already mentioned, there wouldn’t be much point in pulling out individual pieces here. In The Interim feels far more like a fully-realised world to get lost in rather than a collection of spaces to drop in and out of. It flows well, leaving listeners with a clear sense of what it is NO SUN have to offer. That might be the record’s only slight undoing too – and we use that term very lightly here – as some may want a few more obvious moments or tracks to grab onto as opposed to what can at times drift by in a general wash of airy melodies, sweeping textures, scuzzy guitars and driving drums.
If you can lay that aside though – and you absolutely should – In The Interim is a lovely way to spend three quarters of an hour. It doesn’t skimp on weight or intensity, and yet it never really becomes too abrasive or oppressive. Instead it pulls off that special feat in which even its most mournful and crushing moments fit comfortably as part of a wider and ultimately uplifting whole.
Rating: 7/10
In The Interim is set for release on September 30th via Church Road Records/Flesh And Bone Records (cassette).
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