The Sun Days – “Don’t Need To Be Them” (Stereogum Premiere)
Admittedly, the Sun Days probably should have chosen a different band name. Given that there’s already a world famous band called the Sundays — one that may well reactivate one of these days — calling your band the Sun Days is a bit like adopting the name Churches or Limp Biscuit or Ray, Dio Head. But don’t let questionable nomenclature stop you from enjoying one of the best new bands in the world.
The Sun Days hail from the same Gothenburg scene that gave us Makthaverskan and Westkust, and their debut full-length Album (they really struggle at naming things) saw European release last year through Luxxury, the same label that helped launch those bands. Now the esteemed Run For Cover is bringing Album to America, and today we get our first preview in the form of “Don’t Need To Be Them.”
As an album opener the song makes a tremendous first impression: a pristine jangle at a frantic pace, topped off by Elsa Fredriksson Holmgren’s voice soaring ever higher into this gorgeous sonic space between indie-pop and post-punk. It’s like Makthaverskan’s great “Antabus” with a friendlier disposition; instead of ruthless distortion and repeated cries of “Fuck you!” we get an exquisite clean guitar dream and the assuring refrain, “You don’t need to be them!” You do, however, need to listen to this right now.
Album is out 3/25 on Run For Cover. Pre-order it here.