Sonny & The Sunsets. Antenna To The Afterworld.

On Antenna to the Afterworld, Sonny Smith marries an extensive narrative about outer space and alien life with ruminations on the deaths of two close friends. In the past two years, Smith and the band have been genre-jumping shapeshifters. Smith's 100 Records series had him going from reggae to R&B to folk to garage.

What are Sonny & The Sunsets getting at on Antenna to the Afterworld, a fast-moving record of new wave synths and post punk beats? The murder of a close friend of the band led Smith to think a lot about death and life after death. Shortly after, a visit to a psychic/medium brought Smith into contact with another friend who had died. This encounter with the afterworld inspired many of the lyrics on Sonny & the Sunsets' new record

After taking a detour into country rock on their previous album, Longtime Companion, Sonny & the Sunsets are back to making music that sounds like it was made in the early '60s, beamed out into space, and returned to earth 40 years later, sounding just a little weird and warped. The group's fourth album, Antenna to the Afterworld, is haunted by death but not morbid, with the songs' cheerful melodies and Sonny Smith's inherent weirdness keep things from getting too dark.

Sonny and the Sunsets - Antenna to the Afterworld. Antenna to the Afterworld is mostly a straightforward blend of these elements. There are male/female vocal harmonies and conversations. There’s a love song to a flower-selling Girl on the Street, there are upbeat, catchy hooks paired with lyrics about feeling a Void, or rather a funny kind of sad joy – on that same track, there’s even the token ‘record someone talking about the song over the top of it’ tactic, as someone says I like that part! and proceeds. to sing along with the bassline

More By Sonny & The Sunsets. See All. The Hypnotist - EP.

Antenna to the Afterworld is both a more imaginative album than its predecessor and a more fully realized vision. Smith gives a bigger slice of the action to his previously well-constrained band, a move that rewards both the musicians and Smith’s expansive aims.

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Sonny & The Sunsets' Antenna To The Afterworld is a fast-moving record of New Wave synths and Post Punk beats. The murder of a close friend of the band led Smith to think a lot about death and life after death. This encounter with the afterworld inspired many of the lyrics on the Sonny & the Sunsets' record. Wrong album? Let us know. Expand player Collapse player. Sonny & The Sunsets. ANTENNA TO THE AFTERWORLD Vinyl Record.

Antenna to the Afterworld may have all the dressings of science fiction and fantasy, but like many great works in those genres, it's a strong, emotive character study.