Sunbloc

As in most creative disciplines, familiarity and novelty each possess
considerable but limited value within the rock music format. Derivative
earworms create shortcuts to sonic success but quickly lose their luster, and it’s easy to innovate your way beyond the threshold of listenability. The precarious ledge between those two extremes is where genuine greatness lies, and Sunbloc occupies that space with enviable effortlessness.

Formed in the summer of 2020, the Albany, NY five piece features
members of the criminally short-lived and similarly genre-blending hardcore punk act Spell Runner. But whereas Spell Runner aimed to inject surf-infused psychedelia into traditional American hardcore, Sunbloc strives to merge 90s post-hardcore’s knack for anthemic aggression with classic college rock’s charmingly disaffected pop hooks.

On their 2021 debut, Wither World, the band delivered a promising “punk era Lemonheads playing pop-era Lemonheads” approach that has been both delivered on and expanded upon on their follow up, Sunday Music. As the inaugural release on the band’s own cassette label SMD Records, Sunday Music feels perfectly timed to tap into the current alt rock and hardcore zeitgeist. Songs like “Gun To Your Head” evoke the energetic DC hardcore of Give mixed with the indie-pop songcraft of Guided By Voices, while other tracks such as “Alice” deftly maneuver through lilting, swirling guitar melodies that bring to mind the trippiest and best parts of early 90s Flaming Lips.

As much Fugazi as they are Superchunk, the band’s propensity for high- energy post-hardcore wrapped in approachable alt rock sensibilities is a can’t-miss proposition. And with likeminded contemporaries such as Militarie Gun, Drug Church, and Fiddlehead setting the standard for thoughtful experimentation that doesn’t skimp on aggression or volume, Sunbloc is well-positioned to take their place among the current canon.