Photo by Adam Herndon
By DCist contributor Quinn Myers
From the start of 2014, the mega releases by pop industry icons and buzz bands that had defined the previous year gave way to an influx of seemingly out-of-nowhere artists, who shook up the status quo and released a surprisingly consistent amount of great albums.
Sea When Absent, the third LP from shoegaze band A Sunny Day in Glasgow, led the charge, as the Philadelphia by-way-of pretty much everywhere band cemented their sound and reinvigorated their appeal with a more polished approach than on previous efforts. While Sunny Day didn’t exactly come out of nowhere — they’ve been releasing albums in various formations since 2006 — Sea When Absent has led to long overdue acknowledgment of their excellent songwriting and piercing live performances.
The band finishes a short tour tonight as the headliner at DC9 on top of a stacked lineup; fellow Philly-bred shoegaze group Creepoid and Jason Bartell of Fang Island, who recently remixed Sunny Day’s “Love in Useless,” are opening. Get there early for a near oppressively loud wave of sound as each band recreates their songs with a passion and intensity that doesn’t always come through on the records (earplugs are highly recommended).
A Sunny Day in Glasgow’s influences may appear obvious at first; My Bloody Valentine and other shoegaze comparisons are easy ones to make. On Sea When Absent, however, the band flexes their ability and taste for noisy, burning guitars, while retaining a refreshing exuberance for synthy, poppy bliss. Dual vocalists Jen Goma and Annie Frederickson’s melodies link the songs together, and nowhere is their synergy more apparent than on “Crushin’,” the third track of the album which just barely overshadows the popular single “MTLOV (Minor Keys)” and might be the best pop song of the year. Seeing the alternating melodies presented by Goma and Frederickson in person will be an intimate treat.
A Sunny Day in Glasgow approaches their pop hooks and synthy beats with more texture and, in line with their Philly roots, a bit of grittiness that bands with similar sounds and labels have been lacking. It’s this authenticity, along with their long-held reputation for energetic live sets, that makes their show at DC9 tonight a can’t miss.
A Sunny Day in Glasgow plays tonight at DC9. Doors open at 8 p.m., show begins at 8:30 p.m. $10 in advance, $12 at the door.
