Sundae, SundaeSpain, Susy Records
Rating: 69
by Giovanni Guillén
Earlier this year Revista Plástica released a follow-up to Plásticos y Etéreos: Vol. 2. Some bands stood out as ambitious and forward thinking, others caught our ears for their accessibility. Among those accessible songs was a track so indebted to its dream pop influences that, aside from being sung en español, there was little to distinguish it from a Slowdive b-side circa 1990. Indeed, “Vuelve a Casa Por Navidad” attracted me for the same reasons I now dislike it. Sure it satisfied that part of me that refuses to, like our own Reuben Torres once said, “stick a fork in it already,” but, beyond that, what about the music stood out at least enough to go back to?
Sundae’s self-titled EP doesn’t completely alleviate these worries, but it does showcase a step in the right direction. For one thing, the EP travels a lot, touching on a variety of genres (bossa nova and noise pop sound so good together) while remaining surprisingly cohesive. Of course, this is mostly due to those vocals and the themes of love and adolescence (which at Club Fonograma will never get old). Sundae certainly seems to agree with Chilean writer María José Viera-Gallo when she called dream pop a more romantic rock. At just 12 minutes, the four songs play out like a class period of trying to steal glances at your crush. And if there’s any shoegazing going on here, it’s because our lead singer is smitten. On the fuzzy and anthemic closer, “Sunny Sundae Smile” the lyrics actually shout, “Let’s fall in love.”
Opener “Britney” stands out as the EP’s best track. The '90s rhythm sample stomps along for a few seconds, recalling Soda Stereo’s Dynamo in a more subdued form, and eventually glides along at just the right pace. Comparisons aside, it is a perfect example of Sundae in search of what is uniquely “them.” Elsewhere, new wave ballad “Tiempo perdido” underwhelms in the same way the Plásticos y Etéreos song did, not to mention it also runs about a minute too long. Such complaints, however, are not to be taken too seriously. There’s nothing wrong with being derivative as long as there are signs of trying to evolve. Sundae is a young band having fun while imitating the sounds that (let’s be honest) we can’t get over either. In the meantime, it is best to just enjoy it with them.
Sundae’s self-titled EP doesn’t completely alleviate these worries, but it does showcase a step in the right direction. For one thing, the EP travels a lot, touching on a variety of genres (bossa nova and noise pop sound so good together) while remaining surprisingly cohesive. Of course, this is mostly due to those vocals and the themes of love and adolescence (which at Club Fonograma will never get old). Sundae certainly seems to agree with Chilean writer María José Viera-Gallo when she called dream pop a more romantic rock. At just 12 minutes, the four songs play out like a class period of trying to steal glances at your crush. And if there’s any shoegazing going on here, it’s because our lead singer is smitten. On the fuzzy and anthemic closer, “Sunny Sundae Smile” the lyrics actually shout, “Let’s fall in love.”
Opener “Britney” stands out as the EP’s best track. The '90s rhythm sample stomps along for a few seconds, recalling Soda Stereo’s Dynamo in a more subdued form, and eventually glides along at just the right pace. Comparisons aside, it is a perfect example of Sundae in search of what is uniquely “them.” Elsewhere, new wave ballad “Tiempo perdido” underwhelms in the same way the Plásticos y Etéreos song did, not to mention it also runs about a minute too long. Such complaints, however, are not to be taken too seriously. There’s nothing wrong with being derivative as long as there are signs of trying to evolve. Sundae is a young band having fun while imitating the sounds that (let’s be honest) we can’t get over either. In the meantime, it is best to just enjoy it with them.