Having formed in 2009, the Roanoke, Virginia-based band started out as a two-piece, with Nicole Yun on vocals/guitar and Daniel Cundiff on drums, to be joined later by bassist Jonathan Woods (they have now been a trio longer then they were a duo). Gone are the days of their hometown collective known as the “Magic Twig Community”, that saw the handful of like-minded indie artists working together; but what has grown in its place is a band that stands firmly on its own. In the words of All Music, “The kind that other bands will look to for inspiration 20 years later.”
Gold and Stone is their fourth album, following on from the crafty minimalism on their debut Silver, the dream punk sheen of 2012’s breakout Correct Behavior and the guitar driven power on The Drop Beneath, the evolution of Eternal Summers marks a band that embraces both anthemic rock and bittersweet ballads – a band that is grounded in jangle pop with a hint of shoegaze but with an added depth that rewards on repeated listens.
For Gold and Stone, Eternal Summers returned to Resonate Studio in Austin, TX, the site of last year’s well-received The Drop Beneath (where Pitchfork noted: “The Drop Beneath is the most pristine sounding thing that Eternal Summers have ever recorded” and “indulges their more anthemic side, and the results are solid.” According to Paste Magazine, “Their brand of loose-hanging, guitar driven, hook-filled pop has tightened into a fist.”). They are back into the very adept hands of engineer and mixer Louie Lino to create an album that ventures beyond the pop immediacy of their previous albums. Nicole says, “On this self-produced album, we wanted to target more lush and radiant textures, some classic rock riffs, some jazzier elements and some full-on punk snarl.”
Nicole isn’t exactly sure how influence happens, “Whether it creeps in or just bashes you on the head, I think we made it a point to be as open as possible. We love to listen to bands and think about how their albums came together. We were listening to a lot of Blur, early Radiohead, And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead, Echo and the Bunnymen, Ryan Adams, Lush, Dinosaur Jr., Cleaners from Venus and Stereolab in the van on tour before writing Gold and Stone.” You’ll have to give Gold and Stone a spin to see whether you can pick out those influences or even find traces of the early Eternal Summers “dream punk,” but regardless, it’s evident Eternal Summers shall not fade.
TOUR DATES
SEP 11 – Galway, IR @ Roisin Dubh (free)
SEP 12 – Dublin, IR @ The Workman’s Club
SEP13 – Edinburgh, UK @ Electric Circus ^
SEP 15 – Cardiff, UK @ 10 Feet Tall ^
SEP 16 – Falmouth, UK @ Mono ^
SEP 17 – London, UK @ Birthdays ^ (free)
SEP 18 – Amsterdam, NL @ De Nieuwe Anita w/Happyness (Subbacultcha)
SEP 19 – Antwerp, NL @ Muziekcentrum TRIX *
SEP 20 – Tilburg, NL – Incubate Festival
SEP 21 – Cologne, GER @ Blue Shell *
SEP 22 – Paris, FR @ L’Espace B *
SEP 24 – Birmingham, UK @ Hare & Hounds *
SEP 25 – Glasgow, UK @ Broadcast *
SEP 27 – Newcastle, UK @ The Cluny *
SEP 28 – Norwich, UK – Norwich Arts Centre *
SEP 30 – London, UK @ Tufnell Park Dome *
OCT 01 – Manchester, UK @ Deaf Institute *
OCT 02 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Social Club *
OCT 03 – Southampton, UK @ The Joiners *
OCT 04 – Bristol, UK @ Thekla *
OCT 05 – Brighton, UK @ The Hope & Ruin *
^ w/ Pinact
* w/ Surfer Blood
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