Lord Sonny the Unifier

How is it that the pondering of our place in the universe through music became synonymous with the theatrical sing-song nature of glam rock? On paper, it doesn't make much sense. Sure, there's a modicum of psychedelia involved but glam doesn't hold a candle to the phantasmagorical soundscapes created by true space rock or other forms of psych rock. However, when Mr Bowie made that sonic connection to that subject matter, it cemented the cosmos and vaudevillian theatricality into a genre that continues to thrive today. Plenty of new artists have taken up this mantle from Sean Lennon (specifically with his Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger project) to the Arctic Monkeys latest 2001: A Space Odyssey inspired venture, which leans heavily on Bowie's glam-era tropes.

With their latest release Final Notice!, Brooklyn-based outfit Lord Sonny the Unifier find their place among the Star Children of Bowie's revolution. The album's title references that final warning sign, that last-ditch effort. In times like those, we often look to realms far away to either escape to or find meaning in when our own sense of purpose is fading.

Lord Sonny comes out guns blazing with the fuzzy stomper, 'Right in Your I'. The brash, obstinate shuffle has more than subtle hints of The Clash and serves as the album's revolutionary swipe. A lashing out when your back is up against the wall. Vocalist Greg Jiritano's dystopian rasp melds with the buzzing guitars coalescing in one sizzling, sarcastic snarl. Bassist Derek Nievergelt, pianist Tyler Wood and drummer Carmine Covelli hold down a plodding pulse, giving a raucous swing to the unrelenting march.

With the opening jabs at the powers that be out of the way, they settle into a dreamier tone, telling tales and waxing poetic. 'The Starman' finds a loungey vibe with Jiritano's rasp finding its way into a narrative croon over a minor key Americanized bossa nova. 'Satellite Eye' and 'First in Space' both share the starry-eyed theatrical glam swing of Bowie's Stardust era. Swaying arm in arm while transfixed on the infinity above. Gripping tightly to a connection here on earth because the isolation of the vastness of the cosmos is so staggeringly isolating.

There is no filler on Final Notice!. Each track has the tight production and hooky refrains that just stick with you. The album might begin with a harsh indictment but much of the rest of the album feels like that scene in Trainspotting when Renton floats toward the ceiling, being lifted Deus Ex Machina out of his dark surroundings. When life down here on earth is too bleak to look at, why not look to the stars where possibilities are not disappearing but expanding infinitely.