June 13, 2016

Sonny and the Sunsets’ Brilliant Misdirection

This winning set is essentially Sonny Smith and company making their typical mischief. And that’s a good thing.


Sonny and the Sunsets
Moods Baby Moods
Polyvinyl

Courtesy of Polyvinyl Records

Powered by jittery electric guitars, sloppy, semi-funky beats, and scruffy analog synths that could have been retrieved from the scrap heap, the endearing Moods Baby Moods teems with tantalizing ideas. Ever-crafty frontman Sonny Smith projects a lethargic stoner vibe that’s a textbook example of brilliant misdirection, warbling witty and unpredictable tunes ranging from anxiety-ridden surrealism worthy of a Philip K. Dick novel (“Death Cream part 2 ‘Watch Out for the Cream'”) to a profanely funny tall tale (“Well But Strangely Hung Man”) to scathing social commentary (“White Cops on Trial”), wherein he mumbles bitterly, “We have found him not guilty ’cause we are insane.” Merrill Garbus, of tUnE-yArDs renown, produces, lending the band a brighter than usual sound, but this winning set is essentially Smith and company making their typical mischief. And that’s a good thing.

 

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