Earlier in the night, I received an email from one of the members of Sunning, a five-piece emo/pop punk band from Long Island, New York, requesting that I review their debut EP entitled Lock & Key. Believe it or not, I had actually listened to Lock & Key several times and even considered reviewing it before I was contacted by the band. Well, now the time has come…
The EP opens with the track titled “No Peace Of Mind” which is primarily instrumental. After some nice, soothing guitar melodies and slow-paced drumming, Sunning slowly starts to ease into their true sound. Near the end of the track, the vocalist comes out of nowhere and shouts “Finding no peace of mind when you’re all I have and there’s nothing left”. After this relatively slow, but very effective start, Sunning takes things up another notch. “Time Spent” is comprised of catchy vocals and lyrics, impressive drumming, and fantastic melodies and chord progressions (albeit fairly simple). The chorus of “Time Spent” is my favourite on Lock & Key and I always find myself singing along at the top of my lungs every time I hear it.
Next up is “Sound Sleep”. Similar to the previous track, the vocals on “Sound Sleep” are spectacular, and when there are multiple vocals heard at once, it reminds me of Tigers Jaw. Following “Sound Sleep” is “Medford”. “Medford” is one of the most aggressive tracks on the EP vocal-wise that also contains some really cool riffs in the second half.
The final track is titled “A Place To Call Home”. “A Place To Call Home” is the perfect way to close out an EP with excellent riffs and catchy lead vocals as well as guest vocals from members of several local bands (The B-List, Bellwether, Shorebreak, and Giants At Large). There is one part of the song that slightly annoyed me, though. It seems like every pop punk band uses the cliché “home is where the heart is” lyric and Sunning is another one to add to the list, but that’s about the only flaw with Lock & Key – and it’s a hell of a small one that’s barely worth mention, might I add.
If you’re a fan of pop punk bands that also add other influences like emo and indie (Citizen, Pentimento, Title Fight, etc.), Sunning will be a very nice addition to your playlist. Their Lock & Key EP is about 16 minutes long, but it doesn’t lose any of its excellency after repeated listens which means that you can listen to it twice in a row and pretend that you’re listening to a full length! “Time Spent” and “A Place To Call Home” are my personal favourites, but the entire EP is beautifully put together and it’s something that everyone needs to hear.
Links: Facebook – Bandcamp
