Sunfold – Toy Tugboats
If you’re anything like me and love the band Annuals, then you should be more than excited to hear Sunfold, the music of Annuals’ lead guitarist Kenny Florence. It’s hard to describe Florence’s sound as it sometimes sounds like vintage Annuals, while other time it sounds nothing at all like his main band. Everyone that backs him up on the album are from Annuals, so some of the things that made Annuals so unique are all over Toy Tugboats, but what surprised me most was the unique sound Florence has successfully achieved despite having everyone in Annuals still in his band.
“Oregon” starts the album off with Florence’s technical guitar playing showcased in full, bringing up comparisons to the various projects of Mike Kinsella, most specifically Owen and American Football. We’re also introduced to Florence’s great vocals, which show he has all kinds of range and can do much more than back up vocals for Adam Baker. “Shrinking the Sphere” follows happily, with upstroked, almost reggae guitar on top of an upbeat, danceable melody and vocal line that’s nearly impossible not to put on repeat while driving on these hot summer days.
From here, the excellent “Sailed Off to Sea” slows things down in a good way, with the beginning of three slower songs that range from slow folk to Sinatra sounding lounge/jazz that showcases Florence’s incredible range when it comes to knowing various different styles of guitar playing. These slower songs are what makes Sunfold distinctly different from Annuals. It’s a softer side to the group’s music that is often neglected by Annuals playful, upbeat tunes.
“Gorgée de Rubis” comes in towards the middle with a surprisingly similar electronic pulsing beat behind synths, guitar and a single phrase repeated over and over that treads familiarly into Annuals’ electronic territory. I’m guessing Adam Baker had a lot of influence on this song. Either way, it’s easily one of the stand-outs on the album. “Shapeshiftin’” has a great bluegrass/folk feel to it with madolin, banjo, and snare.
“Sara the American Winter” is the main song the label and promo companies are trying to push, and while I don’t feel it’s the best on the album, it’s a good showcase song that has both slow and upbeat elements that are found throughout the album. It’s a good song, but I’d recommend checking out “Oregon”, “Shrinking the Sphere”, or “Gorgée de Rubis” first. (head over to the hype machine to check out some more songs than what’s below)
The album wraps up with two more slow, jazz/acoustic sounding songs, both good, but each serves more as a fade out to end the album rather than trying to end in any epic way. In the end, the more I listen to Toy Tugboats, the more I simply can’t stop listening to it. It’s that good. Of course, most of you know about my obvious Annuals bias when writing this, with their album Be He Me making my top album a couple years ago, but until a couple months from now, when Annuals release their upcoming album, I’m plenty happy listening to Sunfold. I initially listened to this album secretly hoping it’d stand up there with most of Annuals’ music, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it does just that.
Sunfold – Toy Tugboats
Perch Score: 8.723
1. Oregon [quicktime link to music video]
2. Shrinking the Sphere
3. Sailed Off to Sea
4. Gnosis
5. To Wake The Eye
6. Gorgee de Rubis
7. Shapeshiftin”
8. Sara the American Winter [mp3]
9. Osk
10. Holding the Charm
BONUS:
Sunfold – Between the Worlds (from the Wet Zoo split EP with Annuals)
