Sunny Day Sets Fire: Summer Palace reviewed in Drowned In Sound

Sunny Day Sets Fire: Summer Palace

Multi-national indie pop troupe Sunny Day Sets Fire clearly have immense musicianship and a diverse set of influences, yet against the odds they manage to blend each element seamlessly and refrain from allowing any individual to overshadow the whole.

On Summer Palace, the band expand on the kaleidoscopic sounds of their first EPs, balancing out the delicate side of their muse with a brace of spikier moments. It is to their credit that they can effectively deliver short bursts of pop perfection (‘Wilderness’, ‘Adrenaline’) and also stretch out
over the six minute mark without losing focus, as on the gutsy ‘Smallest
Heart On Earth’ and closer ‘Lack Of View’.

The combined talents of dual singers Mauro and Onyee, each with
extraordinary, distinctive voices, carry the listener through every nuanced
moment with more than a touch of the ethereal. Comparisons could justifiably
be made to The Flaming Lips, Blonde Redhead, The Apples In Stereo, even
early Mew, but these songs transcend any overt referencing.

In spite of an obvious fondness for Elephant 6-style jangle pop, the band
manage to crystallize that sound into something more strident and confident
than most of the bands affiliated with the movement. A significant portion
of the credit for this must go to Matthew, whose muscular drumming provides
an extra dimension to their twee contemporaries.

Despite its title, Summer Palace is a record intended to be enjoyed through
all seasons. Even if it’s little surprise that Sunny Day Sets Fire have made
more of an impact over in the US so far, there’s no good reason things
shouldn’t look brighter here in their adopted home country in the coming
months.

- Drowned In Sound

Sunny Day Sets Fire Release Album In The UK

Sunny Day Sets Fire are releasing their debut album Summer Palace in the UK on February 23rd.  Take a look at some of the great reviews they are getting over there below.  The song “Adrenaline” was made Single of the Week on BBC Radio 1 last week as well!  Summer Palace is in stores now in America.
 
“Whether slipping The Flaming Lips’ euophoria into the morning glory of ‘Teenagers Talking’ or letting ‘Mandarins’ fold over itself in a palimpsest of glittering guitars and childlike enthusiasm like Band of Horses let loose in a Lego shop…and how did they make ‘Wilderness’ sound boundlessly euphoric but not cloying and annoying?  They must be wizards.”  - NME
 
“This London-based band reiagine the best moments of Swedish indie pop and shake up its shy sensibilities with buoyant limbs and bright eyes.” – Word Magazine
 
“What’s really impressive is that they have managed to blend all these styles into an album that still feels like a complete album and not forced or thrown together.” – Drowned In Sound

Listen to “Adrenaline” from Summer Palace below

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