Search - Sunny Day Real Estate :: Diary

Karl V. from LAFAYETTE, IN
Reviewed on 12/10/2009...

Good on the 1st listen.

1 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.

It's a Tough Call

J. Lemke | Davidson, NC USA | 12/11/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Sunny Day Real Estate's debut is one of the coolest CDs I've heard in a while. Their stuff is provocative, original, and best of all, not easy to like. This is the kind of album where learning to appreciate it is an achievement. My first time through, it seemed devoid of melody with enough grating screams thrown in to make it a bit of a chore to listen to. But on my second time, I found that the subtle melodies were secretly brilliant, and simply overshadowed by the strange, harsh sound of the music.



Tracks 1-3 and 7-9 are extraordinary, featuring sweet guitar riffage and brooding, dark melodies. The rest of the tracks are not your typical filler. The problem is that they have a tendency to go from pleasant, dark melody to ferocious, unrestrained yelling and grungy guitar with no breaks. They are difficult to listen to and not as strong as the 6 tracks I listed. My favorites are "Shadows," which has a strong enough melody and guitar-line to make up for the yelling vocal, and "Pheurton Skeurto," a brief, lilting piano ballad that I've grown to love after a few listens.



Overall, I'm glad I bought this, but if you're looking for easy thrills, you won't find them here. This music takes time and at least a limited musical intellect and appreciation to get into. But it's worth the trouble."

Worth Upgrading to the Remastered Release!

uoozuman | 09/21/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In this age of digital downloads and MP4 magic, I was tempted to go with the download. I could not be happier that I spent the extra buck and went with the hard copy! The new packaging and booklet are worth the purchase alone, not to mention how much better everything sounds. These songs finally received the treatment they have deserved all these years."