Sondra Sun-Odeon
AEtherea, 2014

Sondra Sun-Odeon is not something you play to pump up the party. Her music is not something you play in an attempt to cheer yourself up or match the mood of a sunny day. Sondra Sun-Odeon is slow, heavy, melancholy, dramatic, ethereal, chilling and absolutely, stunningly beautiful. Regardless of the tone it sets, the entire album is definitely worth a listen.

No FCCs.

1. (4:08) Shivers. Some ghostly vocalization and crazy strings open the track, then a sudden stop--one by one the vocals and strings come back in and build up beautifully. Feels like you're suspended in midair.
2. *(3:32) Melancholy strings, some really nice guitar plucking, incredibly echoey vocals, beautiful range moves from deep to high-pitched.
3. *(3:30) More grounded extension of the last track. Midway, the violin work and the string plucking speed up and run into each other, effectively creating something like a tornado of sound that dissolves to a lighter variant of the earlier tune. Wow.
4. (2:58) Some electric guitar and notable percussion comes into play. Violin builds up the tune until it seems to overflow. Soft, dreamy vibe.
5. (3:20) Especially clear, yearning vocals are front and center. Slowest on the album, feels dreamy and sleepy.
6. (9:17) Experimentation in instrumentation. More of that soft, dreamy vibe at the start--the guitar's having fun harmonizing and the beat is finding its footing. About two minutes in, an aggressive guitar gives way to a percussion driven tune. Whirring guitars transition to strings and more ethereal/dreaminess.
7. *(3:27) Vocals! This song is telling a story, and the music follows the actions of swimming, running, flying, etc. with appropriately sped up or slowed down guitar and strings. Overlapping, echoing vocals as the story reaches its climax add a slightly chilly, spooky undertone. Very well done.
8. (1:57) Kind of ominous. Very slow, dark, and unchanging. Felt transitory between dark to slightly less dark.
9. *(4:42) Wonderful reverb-ed, overlapped guitar opens and, along with a drum beat that sneaks up on you, drives this gem of a song. Gives way to the percussion beautifully, which in turn gives way to some beautiful underlying strings. Vocals ghostly and crystalline, as usual.
10. (5:52) A dark and stormy song. Constant/repeating bassline sets the stage for screeching violin that floats in and out with crashing drums, wailing guitar and some chilling vocalization.