Review: Sundress–Fever EP
26 May
Editor’s note: This review is the first of what we hope will be many by Judson Valdez (whom you may know as frontman for Baruch the Scribe).
By Judson Valdez
I must admit that I haven’t always been a fan of This Old house/ Odyssey/Sundress. During early listens, I thought the band’s songs were all too similar and a little melodramatic at times. But since I’ve attended their shows over the past couple of months, they have won me over (understatement). I’ve found myself awaiting recordings from this band more than any other local act in recent months, yet also a little worried about what they would sound like.
To be honest, I have been very disappointed in the material that has come out of Denton’s thriving music scene over the past year or so and lately I’ve been a little nervous about listening to most of the new records coming out around town in fear of lessening my interest in so many great live acts. But this is not the place to go into that, so I’ll continue with a review of an album that I can confidently say satisfied my urge for good local music.
The Fever EP plays well throughout and kept my attention from beginning to end. “Dream Curl” is a strong opener and a good display of what’s to come. Ryan McAdams’ catchy yet intricate picking patterns mixed with Kennan Talley’s light, sweeping lead parts keep the song moving for the whole four-and-a-half minutes and showcase the relaxed yet strong feel of the album to come.
“Stellas”, track five, brings a different sound to the mix, with a more upbeat and, dare I say, grunge feel. The final track, “Fever”, only takes the whole EP up one more notch for me. The driving thuds of both the kick drum and bass are the perfect set-up for McAdams’ clear vocals. The track ends up being led by Talley’s piercing guitar line toward the end of the song in a gripping and epic finale to the EP.
The Sundress boys have definitely changed my earlier opinion of their sound as I found myself completely absorbed and re-absorbed in every track on the album. My only criticism of this album is that I would have loved to hear a mastered version of it. There are several moments on the album when the bass and drums are a bit lost in the mix and decent mastering could have taken care of that. Drew McCary’s bass lines are, personally, my favorite part of listening to these songs and I hate to hear them improperly mixed on such a good EP.
Ultimately, though, I can easily say that the Fever EP has restored my faith in local music recordings and given me hope for the long string of music to come.