Sun Airway‘s Jon Barthmus is the latest in a string of artists over the last few years to accelerate the deconstruction of traditional pop songwriting. With traces of Animal Collective, Toro Y Moi, M83 and My Bloody Valentine, Barthmus forms musical collages where the primary elements—guitars, pads, modulated signals, found sound, etc.—are indiscernible from each other, though their combination creates an enveloping, coherent effect. On its own, the music is interesting, but not so much as to significantly distinguish Barthmus from the hoards of Kevin Shields apostles dotting the indie-pop landscape today. No, what separates Sun Airway, what makes a song like “Oh Naoko” worth downloading, is the music’s interaction with Barthmus’ unaffected, plain-as-day vocal delivery. Like Memoryhouse’s Denise Nouvion, Barthmus can sing well, and the Sun Airway material, which is heavy on hooks, benefits from the unlikely marriage of his crisp delivery and the woozy soundtrack underneath. Sun Airway’s debut, Nocturne Of Exploded Crystal Chandelier, will be released on October 26 via Dead Oceans. And here are two bonus mp3s for album tracks “Infinity” and “Put The Days Away.”
“Oh Naoko” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/OhNaoko.mp3
“Infinity” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/Infinity.mp3
“Put The Days Away” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/PutTheDaysAway.mp3
