Until the Sun – A Night in the Rhythm Room
Self-produced; 2022
10 songs; 47 minutes
The Arizona-based band, Until the Sun, is anything but predictable. They describe their music as fusing “elements of blues, alternative rock, Pink-Floydesque Psychedelia, and Jazz,” and that fusion is apparent in the first two tracks of their latest release, A Night in the Rhythm Room. Brandon Teskey’s skillful and emotive guitar work does an excellent job of alternating between rousing rock riffs and slow, moving blues solos.
Alyssa Swartz’s vocals are equally flexible. At times she can sound sweet and ethereal, such as in “The 4th Turning”. But her effortless, yet incredibly powerful vocals adopt a wonderful sultry rasp in many other songs. There are few singers who can meet the challenge presented by covering Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” (especially after Beth Hart offered such a memorable interpretation of it) or attempt to cover “At Last”. However, Swartz is one of the few who can meet those high-set bars.
The group is rounded out with Glenn Peacock on bass and Chris Tex on drums, and the album is a recording of one of their live performances at the Rhythm Room, where you can feel their energy likely filling the entire venue.
They selected seven interesting and varied originals for inclusion on this album, and the strength of their originals can perhaps be best seen in the fourth track, “Death in Disguise”. During this song, it appears a past love is being confronted about his/her callous behavior. “She ought to know how alone she was…she was paralyzed by your disguise…hearts don’t lie, but you’ll take it back, put it in your sack, and move on to your next attack…you’ll take what you can, and you’ll lie. You’re death in disguise.”
Blues purists may not appreciate the fusion of genres evident in many of the songs, but the only real flaw of this album seems to be the lack of writing credits and information about the band on the cover. Therefore, most will find A Night in the Rhythm Room thoroughly enjoyable. And for many who were not previously familiar with the band, Until the Sun just might become a favorite “new find”.
