Sunday's Best - Sons of the Second String 7"

For Christmas my family bought me a nice, new direct drive record player complete with USB capability. In the 12 years since I received my first record player for my 15th birthday, I've never had a truly nice one so needless to say, I am pretty psyched. With that comes the ability to rip old records for this blog which is something I've wanted to do for a while.

My first attempt at vinyl conversion is the debut 7" from California's Sunday's Best. I posted their EP Where You Are Now about a year ago and have wanted to post this ever since. "Sons of the Second String" is one of my favorite Sunday's Best songs and I think this 7" as a whole is a great indicator of what was to come for this incredibly underrated band. If you are familiar with the EP, this 7" offers more of the same great Midwest inspired emotional indie rock (think Caufield Records). Unlike Where You Are Now the three songs here shy away from the slower, darker end of the spectrum and keep things upbeat. If this sounds like your sort of thing, it probably is.

Sorry for the stolen eBay pic, but I don't have a scanner and this was the best thing I could find.


Sunday's Best - Sons of the Second String

Sunday's Best - Where You Are Now

Though they formed prior to his joining, for all intensive purposes Sunday's Best really took shape once Tom Ackerman of major label cut-out-bin band Skiploader became their new drummer. They recorded their debut 7" Sons of the Second String and caught the attention of Crank!, known for their track record of releasing quality albums by Boys Life, Mineral, Vitreous Humor and a slew of other emotional brooders. Their next EP, Where You Are Now like the 7", falls right in with that. Despite their home base of California, I can't help but envision desolate, snowy Midwestern prairie every time I listen to this record. It has this dark, cool production that makes the quiet, sad parts that much more heart wrenching and the brighter moments feel hazy like the sun in the dead of winter. You know it's there, but it's just too far from the Earth to really heat the surface. As it happens, their next two LP's for Midwest institution, Polyvinyl Records, took a more upward, sunny turn toward catchy pop melodies and smoother production. Those records are great too, but Where You Are Now will always be the definitive Sunday's Best material in my eyes.

Sunday's Best - Where You Are Now