Album Review: Ought - Sun Coming Down
By Van Williams, Contributor
[Constellation; 2015]
Rating: 4/5
Key Tracks: “Men For Miles," “Sun’s Coming Down,” “Beautiful Blue Sky"
Montreal-based band Ought is putting out some of the most catchy experimental rock music in today’s scene. The members hail from all over the United States, with one even emigrating from Australia. They found each other in Montreal’s experimental DIY scene and got an apartment that doubled as a practice space; in 2012 Ought released its first EP, New Calm.
Fast forward three years and Ought is putting out its second full length on Constellation Records. The first time through this record, some influences seem obvious: Sonic Youth in the static, noise and the building intros; Jim Morrison in the almost spoken, deep vocal melodies. But somewhere beneath all of that was something much more, something new, something I haven’t heard before. These songs don’t just grow, they blossom. From the unique chord progressions and pounding drums, all the way through the walls of feedback, there is a beautiful and original record here.
It takes no time getting started, jumping off with the exciting "Men For Miles." Greeted by careful drumming and a jangly keyboard, you are soon dumped onto a cold street corner in Canada where these tracks were first crafted. In the album’s centerpiece “Beautiful Blue Sky,” the bass slowly but rhythmically rolls in, and then each instrument builds until eventually you become serenaded with almost uninterested, yet never lazy vocals. They’re delivered in a fashion I’ve only heard from the likes of Ian Curtis or Mick Jagger. “I am not afraid to dance, for that is all that I have left,” Darcy sighs. With eight tracks this record flies by, never feeling too hectic, but never boring, lying somewhere in the middle.
