When a band slightly changes sound it can throw everything out of whack, they could lose fans, and their careers could change drastically. This will not be the case for Chicago band, sunshy. ‘Poison’, the band’s first output of 2024, and their fourth single overall, carries the explosive version of shoegaze they so precisely expressed on 2023’s ‘Hyacinth’ and ‘dissolve’, and puts it through a futuristic lens.
The song is built around drum machines and twinkling synths, whilst the video incorporates what today was imagined to be like in the early 2000s: it is muted and collage-like; idyllic and yet a sense of unease permeates. The song and video calls to mind the Lynchian moments of bands like SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE; the sweet nihilism of bands like Alvvays. The juxtaposition of happy faces with doom-drenched guitars works completely.
sunshy is a unique band. Despite their feet firmly set in the shoegaze genre, it is still hard to pinpoint as to where they are next headed. Wherever it is however, I am confident that it’ll be worth the wait.
Written by Callum Folds