The Sunmills – The Art of Burning Bridges
Seeing as how we’re located in the northeastern US, we don’t get a ton of opportunities to cover acts from Utah. Here’s hoping The Sunmills are our first of many – they’ve just released their debut album, The Art of Burning Bridges, an eight-song collection of riffy rock n roll that catalogues the messy roller coaster that is, well, love. Whether we’re talking ex-girlfriends, failed situationships, and self-deprecation, The Sunmills cover it with a wry smile and a healthy dose of sarcasm. You might leave a listening session of The Art of Burning Bridges wondering “… Are these guys ok?” At the same time, you’ll notice their songs have the same sunshine-y polish that you’d expect from ’90s luminaries like Third Eye Blind, Everclear, Fastball, or Semisonic… And it’s not like those guys weren’t singing about failed relationships to great success.
The album opens with “Take Me Away,” a blast of pop-punk energy that’s soaked with shimmering tambourine, clonking cowbell, tight harmonies, and the lighthearted lyrical approach that you’ll come to know and love from The Sunmills. Singing about girls is a lost art – something that was once a mainstay in popular music. In the ’50s, you’d often hear “I love you” rhymed with “I’m so blue,” and these simple-but-effective turns of phrase are The Sunmills’ specialty. You can hear this same energy on “Rock and Roll” – literally a song about being in a rock and roll band. Not every song has to be about true, unimaginable heartbreak (I remind myself aloud), and “Rock and Roll” is one of those songs that’s a reminder that music can just be fun.
Our nod for album favorite goes to the swanky swagger on “Burning Bridges.” The Sunmills play with space here on “Burning Bridges,” pairing a sparse drumbeat with spikes of guitar noise. This song is noodly, smooth, and just a little bit left-field, and that extra attention to detail is a stand out among the more straightforward compositions found throughout The Art of Burning Bridges. Weird, synthed-out dive bombs pepper the ultra-catchy chorus here, while they wax poetic about how much of a bummer life is. They sing: “Yeah I keep burning bridges, burn ’em down to the ground, yeah it must be a sickness, wish I could come around” – it might be painful to know you’re self-sabotaging, but hey, at least they’re self-aware.
A few more rapid-fire suggestions for your consideration – the blistering bass groove found throughout “Not Going Home” might be some of the coolest instrumentation on the album. “Whispering Words” dips its toe into prog territory, even channeling the Beatles a bit, with its transcendent harmonies and epic guitar work. Lastly, album closer “Johnny Appleseed” has some insane drum work that kept me at the edge of my seat throughout the entire listen – bravo.
The Art of Burning Bridges is out May 9, 2025.
Categorised in: Album Reviews
This post was written by Nick Sessanna