Review by robiu013 for Deafheaven - Sunbather (2013)

This album is surprisingly un-appreciated on this site (atleast at the moment of my writing). Deafheaven's Sunbather is otherwise quite the critical darling among various music databases. Look no further than Allmusic's perfect 5 stars out of 5, Pitchfork's 8,9/10 or even the listener-approved boldened 3,61 out of 5 on RYM, ensuring it rank #5 out of all 2013 releases there, for proof. From what I've gathered, the band made quite the kickstart into their career having multiple critics praise and hype their music to extents the black metal genre - that they were usually associated with stylistically - wasn't used to at the time. The success didn't come without a price, as their popularity also brought along criticism and a lot of questioning of their black metal cred, due to their visual appearance and combination of unlikely musical styles.

As far as I am concerned, I rather like it. Sunbather especially stands out in the band's discography. Not just for being their most critically acclaimed album, but also for being their most consistent one. Out of all of blackgaze I'm familiar with, Deafheaven also stands out in terms of intensity and aggression, creating a powerful wall of sound, that feels perfectly satisfying, when it's hard shell breaks down on occasions to reveal a more gentle and melodic side. At the forefront of the group is vocalist George Clarke, who's intense black metal screeching manages to stand it's own next to the loud onslaught of instrumental parts.

Highlights of the album are hard to pin down, as there is hardly a dull moment for me to be found on the record. As the bulk of the album serve the four main tracks, which get padded out by the shorter experimental interludes. Dreamhouse, which served as the album's single upon it's release a month before the album filled store shelves, is a nice kick-off. The track, that narratively stands on it's own, initiates the album in a more optimistic fashion, meshing heavy black metal with a more flamboyant shoegaze to build up momentum. Once the 9 minute playtime-mark is passed the record starts developing into a thematically more inter-connected narrative about the lyricists' frustrations with his current life situation. Ultimately I'd say, there is no bad element to the album, though I must admit I tend to lose some attention once the third instrumental track Windows kicks in. My personal favourite track is the title track, as it serves best as the album's representative summary, but I'd again repeat, that all four of the main songs are excellent - from Dreamhouse's dynamic build-up to the roller coaster ride, that is Vertigo and all the way to the singer sulking in daddy issues in Pecan Tree (Yup, I do consider that good for some reason).

9/10