Sunny Day Sets Fire - Summer Palace (Wonderboat)
3/5
By: Stephen Maughan
My heart almost skipped a beat when this CD first arrived in the post. I foolishly only read the first two words, 'Sunny Day', and thought 'my God, Sunny Day Real Estate are back..!' Sadly on closer inspection the last two words of this band is not Real Estate, but Sets Fire. Sunny Day Sets Fire. It makes no sense to me, but the fact the name was generated on an automatic "band naming" website gives us a hint to the ethos of this band.
First, let's get the facts out of the way. This is nothing new. This is summer pop, the kind you will no doubt enjoy blazing away on your car's stereo as you race through the lush countryside on your way to yet another beach party, you may have your beautiful girlfriend snuggled up by your side, and a full tank of gas and all is well in the world. And yes, I am afraid I have to state the obvious, it also happens to be a sunny day, and the feel good music of Summer Palace is like a comforting breeze which refreshes you and is as familiar as summer itself. Whether this is a criticism very much depends on what mood you are in, and what you expect from a record that is obviously full of very talented musicians. It is difficult to find any specific fault with the music itself, except to say it's... just a little too polished and bland.
As is so often with these bands, what is important here is creating a feeling within the music. The lyrics, although on the most part tolerable, too often act as a sort of background to the sound itself. And when the lyrics aren't tolerable? Well, the chorus of 'Teenagers Talking' goes "Yeah, it still makes me laugh when I see people embarrassed for some stupid things I said", and 'Lack of View' contains such wisdom as "What I couldn't see probably was too close to my eyes", along with "Hurricanes and thunders - what a strange headache in my brain". Well, quite. Brian Wilson this isn't. I hope they didn't use the band naming website to create these lyrics!
Still, they know their strength lies within creating this summer feel good atmosphere, and perhaps there is no need for the lyrics to stand out. Although it does make you question the longevity of a band that, aside from the pleasant piano led 'Siamese', is so focused on creating a specific mood the songs do all tend to blend into each other. Saying that, there are flashes of greatness, and you actually snap out of your summer daydream on what would be an obvious single choice 'Mandarins', and the Beach Boys-esque 'End of the Road'.
A lot has been made of the fact that SDSF consists of members from Canada, Italy, Britain, and Hong Kong, but on the basis of this CD they might as well have all grown up in California. I would love to hear a bit of 1970's Italian film music thrown in with Canadian rock, and Hong Kong metal, but I think we can safely assume that all members although scatted across the globe grew up listening to the same feel good psychedelic pop songs.
Maybe I should just close my eyes, and enjoy the perfectly recreated summer songs of youth, sun, carelessness, and romance. I'll then put my arms around the girl I love and pour myself another ice cold lemonade. Things might be more interesting if there was a shot of vodka in that lemonade though.
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