Sunday Valley
To The Wind And On To Heaven
Lightning Bug Records
There are moments while listening to Sunday Valley’s To the Wind and On To Heaven where it feels like plowing through multiple arrangements of Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen’s “Hot Rod Lincoln.” This is due to Sturgill Simpson’s lightning fast guitar work. Almost every one of these tracks features Simpson ripping away on twang-y electric guitar. A song like “Sometimes Wine,” for instance, races like a racecar at the Indie 500.
Simpson is also this trio’s lead vocalist, where Kevin Black plays bass and Edgar Purdom joins him at the drums. Together, this group creates quite a beautiful rockin’ country noise.
“I Wonder” stands out from the pack for its relatively slow tempo. Instead of being hot rod speedy, the song is more of a measured electric blues, instead. “Cut the Sails” is also unique to this disc in the way it incorporates little more than an acoustic guitar and Simpson’s vocal.
The most lyrically fascinating song on the album is one titled “Jesus Boogie.” For starters, putting the words “Jesus” and “boogie” together for a song name is a little strange. In addition, the song seems to be sung from Jesus’ perspective. “You never asked me if I wanted to be the Son Of God,” he sings. He also says at one point, “I always knew it would end this way.” Ironically, the song comes off as a sincerely religious piece of work, despite the barroom title and rocking groove.
“Oh Sarah” is one of this album’s most sincerely country songs. On it, Simpson admits, “I run away just like I always do.” It concerns the struggles of knowing where to go next in a relationship. The instrumental track is straight ahead country, with a loping bass and drumbeat, and a weary vocal. There are no fiery guitar solos. There is, however, a mournful fiddle part running through it. “I Don’t Mind” is another more traditional sounding song. The song’s lyric is one that complains about a girl that’s left him, on one hand; on the other hand, Simpson also sings about semi-religious ideas when he mentions, “All that stuff about heaven and angels/Well, I know now that it’s all true.”
This album may not appeal to diehard hard rock fans. However, it will likely sit well with those that enjoy twang-y music, such as Southern rock, yet may not be quite ready for honky-tonk George Jones or Merle Haggard. Sunday Valley is a musical place where a country voice seems perfectly natural over a series of Dick Dale electric guitar licks. It should also be noted that Simpson’s guitar playing is tasteful throughout. In other words, he never plays anything with loud, ringing feedback or stuff that screeches. Instead, he shows off a pair of extremely fast hands.
On “Let Me Know,” it sometimes sounds like Simpson is busting a gut just to be heard over his own guitar work. It’s songs like these where Sunday Valley comes off like a glorified garage band or a top tier bar band. Something tells me that whenever Sunday Valley plugs into their amps, Sunday Valley is one locale that really rocks.
Col. J.D. Wilkes, of The Legendary Shackshakers, really likes these guys.
Goes good with: The Legendary Shackshakers, Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, Dick Dale
Ranking: 8 out of 10.
This is a trio of serious twang-bangers.
Buy “To The Wind And On To Heaven” on Amazon here.
