PRE-ORDER & SHARE: Sunnsetter – The best that I can be. LP
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LISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: Sunnsetter – “Surely Everything’s Alright”
Stream / YouTube
LISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: Sunnsetter – “Always Talk, Never Speak”
Stream / YouTube
LISTEN/WATCH & SHARE: Sunnsetter – “Float In Circles”
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LISTEN/PURCHASE & SHARE: Sunnsetter – All watched over by machines of loving grace LP
Bandcamp / Spotify / Apple Music
“Led by a soft and layered guitar soundscape woven together by quiet yet impactful vocals, the track which captures McLeod’s own struggles with accepting who you are and being proud of it, carries a relatable message wrapped up in a comforting instrumentation.”
– EARMILK
“‘Float In Circles’ is a fittingly buoyant and dreamy diversion for McLeod, tinged with plush layered synth melodies, shoegaze guitars, and expansive production. The track is an especially strong showcase for McLeod’s talents as a producer and composer, showing off his penchant for cinematic soundscapes.”
– Under the Radar
“Always open and forthright, McLeod’s music moves with energy and a conviction that even in the darkest moments, there are enough cracks for light and hope to break through.”
– Dominionated
Sunnsetter — the solo project of multi-instrumentalist, composer, and recording engineer + Zoon/OMBIIGIZI collaborator Andrew McLeod — is sharing brand new LP entitled The best that I can be. via Paper Bag Records.
“These songs are something I have been working towards for the better part of 3 years,” said McLeod of the forthcoming LP. “During this time, I have grieved the loss of a close friend/bandmate and continuously dealt with my journey of sobriety and struggles with mental well being, concepts around gender identity and queerness; while simultaneously, of course, being thrown into even more chaos via the pandemic. I hope that these songs can make sense to the people who have never heard my music and the people who have supported me along the way. This is simply the best that I can be, through song, and the need to share that feeling with the world is what has kept me going this entire time.”
As described by McLeod, much of the album was recorded in a transition period between when he lived in Hamilton with Daniel Monkman (Zoon), and when he and his partner first met. As he wrote: “During 2020, we found the house of our dreams in a rural area of Norfolk County, where we’ve been living since. I have been slowly building a recording studio in my shed, and eventually moving it onto the loft of the barn. The studio is called ‘Garden House Recording.’ The album was written over the course of those 3 years between Hamilton and my new home and mixed here in my new studio.”
As a follow-up to the record’s first singles, “Float in Circles” and “Always Talk, Never Speak,” today, McLeod shares “Surely Everything’s Alright” (ft. Guard Petal), alongside an accompanying music video.
Speaking on the track, McLeod wrote:
“I spent many years in a dark place, weighed down by an underlying depression. A consistent and predictable up and down from various mental health issues for the majority of my life. This song and the subject matter of this album as a whole is an attempt at reconciling that behaviour and learning how to live with and change it for the better of myself and those around me. Reminding myself that surely everything is alright, even when I’ve tricked myself into believing otherwise.”
Over the years, Sunnsetter has shared a series of demos and one-off singles. Earlier this year, he shared an LP entitled All watched over by machines of loving grace, and his forthcoming LP, The best that I can be., marks a new era for the project. Stay tuned for more, coming soon.
SUNNSETTER LINKS
Bandcamp | Instagram | Twitter | SpotifySunnsetter Bio:
Multi-instrumentalist, composer, and mixing engineer Andrew McLeod has been releasing music under the name Sunnsetter since 2014. Based in rural Norfolk County, Ontario, they’ve always been a DIY artist, single handedly fusing together every element of their music. And while the creation is entirely them, the music itself draws from various genres; ambient, singer-songwriter, shoegaze, post-rock, slowcore and moves nimbly between them. McLeod wants each song to be distinct. “One of my biggest fears as an artist is to make an album of songs that sound exactly the same,” he said.
Sunnsetter’s single, “Float in Circles,” both sonically and thematically represents much of McLeod’s recent experience: experimentation and overwhelming feelings of grief and guilt over the loss of a close friend and bandmate. “None of it really made any sense until I wrote this track and realized this record and everything that’s happened in my life since their passing needed to be in tribute to them,” said McLeod. It’s melodic and hazy, and brimming with vulnerability. Additionally, McLeod’s background as a score composer clearly underpins much of their work, yet they freely design their songs with an equal measure of creative abandon and melodic intention.
Outside of Sunnsetter, McLeod is a contributor to two Polaris nominated and shortlisted projects; Zoon, headed by Daniel Monkman, and OMBIIGIZI, a collaboration between Monkman and Adam Sturgeon of Status/Non-Status.
The best that I can be. –
TRACKLISTING
1. Memories (Come and Go Light)
2. Float in Circles
3. In the Ocean
4. Always Talk, Never Speak
5. Surely Everything’s Alright
6. The whole World Turns Around Itself
7. Today Feels So New
8 At the End of the Day
9. I Hear a Voice
10. Can’t Forget
The best that I can be. – CREDITS:
All songs written, recorded, and mixed by Andrew McLeod), with the exception of “Surely everything’s alright” featuring the voice of ‘guard petal’
Recorded over 3 years with Daniel Monkman and at Garden House Recording
Mastered by Noah Mintz at Lacquer Channel Mastering
Cover Artwork, photography, collage by Andrew McLeod
Vinyl layout by Bill Baker & Andrew McLeod
