Electric Sunset

"Soda"

Alright, almost caught up.  This time I'm bringing you Electric Sunset's self-titled album, a solo venture from Nic Zwart.  Zwart formerly played with Desolation Wilderness, but decided to branch off and self-produced "Electric Sunset" out of KP221.  The overall feeling of "Electric Sunset" is incredibly light.  Each track carries an overload of ambient sounds on top of a mellow rock and roll sound.  The entire album is fairly moderate paced, only picking up and slowing down on a few tracks.  Unfortunately, Zwart doesn't dive into varying tempos enough and a majority of the album seems to blend together.  Some beats from certain songs even produce a bit of deja vu (which is a big no-no in my book) and the auto-tune and voice alternation begins to take its tole over time.  However, the negative points aside, there are some very strong moments within "Electric Sunset."

"Soda" comes midway through the album and definitely breaks any monotony the listener might have been experiencing.  Whereas most of the album consists of long, flowing melodies and echoing vocals, "Soda" is a bit more pointed and warped.  A background bass beat produces a constant staccato through the song which not only provides for a more funky rhythm than on the rest of the album, but really contrasts Zwart's floating lyrics.  What "Soda" does for the album is something several other songs should do.  It lacks drawn out ambiance, yet still manages to sound uplifting and light hearted throughout the entire track.  In "Morning City," while paralleling the overall sound of the album, the vocals here seem to match up with the instrumentals better than in any other track on the album.  The sound is also very reminiscent of The Shins with this particular track. 

As a whole, "Electric Sunset" could stand to switch it up a bit.  "Soda" is a great example that Zwart has the potential to do so, it is just a matter of actually doing it.  Luckily, this is a debut album, so there is time to iron out the kinks and experiment a little bit more with the direction he's trying to go.  Aside from the monotony that at times really plagues this album and the ambiance that can be overwhelming, the overall sound is creative and manages to work together to form a successful electronica album, something that is definitely a firm stepping stone in Zwart's solo career.  Take a listen here.