Sunlotus is a shoegaze threepiece from Java, Indonesia. Reading their bio on Bandcamp they site 90s grunge and shoegaze bands as influences. In particular Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Jesu, My Bloody Valentine and Slowdive
From the evidence of these songs, they certainly wear these influences on their sleeves.
Picturesque is a slow wall of sound that builds before slowing down even more. The guitars swirl, the drums are kept simple, the vocals are drenched in reverb. The main guitar melody almost has a Mansun-esque quality to it, only this is masked by the dreamy effects.
The Pillars Beneath My Feet reveals the Nirvana influence perhaps the most, with its moody atmosphere, and heavy intro riff – yet the dreamy approach remains.
Sunroof Shelter (This Old House), the longest track on the album, serves as the centrepiece. Mixing lilting vocal melodies with one phasing, almost white noise, guitar, whilst the other picks out a chiming melody, the drums giving an almost power pop quality to the song, before everything breaks down into beautiful feedback.
Heatstroke is the most lively effort here, veering from thrashy grunge into MBV-esque sections, whilst all the while absolutely filling every last bit of space. They also play with a quick flange effect on the vocals, which works well. The track ends on more lovely feedback and percussive guitar clangs.
A Step Away Further has a huge sound, akin to Explosions In The Sky, and tons of space to let things breathe. It’s gorgeous.
Sunlotus close the set with Perseverance, introducing samples, seriously fuzzed out peaking and looping guitars.
They offer up a more abstract piece which is absolutely punishing to your speakers! Although not anything particularly ground-breaking, Sunlotus have excellent tunes and this album is a nicely rounded collection. We’re told by the label HEMA that a vinyl release is also on the cards, so watch out for that.
You may enjoy this if you like: My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Explosions In The Sky
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