Sun Atoms is Jsun. The artist makes psychedelic indie. If that term fills you with dread, it shouldn't. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that lots of Let There Be Light, out this Friday via Little Cloud Records, is quite good, if ridiculous in spots.
I say ridiculous because "Half Robot Half Butterfly" offers up not only a silly title but a possibly cringe-inducing Cult crib in the hooks. It's a decent cut, but not exactly original. Other bits of this album reveal debts owed to Shriekback and Tom Waits, with the breathy "Captain Tunnel Vision" even throwing in a stylistic nod to Stan Ridgway. "Don't Take Me To Your Leader" is quite good. This one, a mid-tempo ramble that sounds a bit like Nineties Peter Murphy to these ears, is engaging and full of throwback charm, even as "Fell for You" rips off portions of about a dozen Depeche Mode songs post-1990 in the service of another of this record's highlights. Jsun's shtick is dangerously close to being annoying in spots on this record but that it's not is high praise. Let There Be Light is an arch, mannered record, full of fine production elements and bits and pieces that stand on their own amid a sea of obvious influences.
Let There Be Light is out this Friday via Little Cloud Records
[Photo: Heather Boyd]