song of the day: may 4/2011

Sunny Day Real Estate - Pillars
Album: How It Feels To Be Something On [1998]

although they formed in 1992 amid the burgeoning hard rock scene in seattle (and later signed to northwest power label sub pop), the group could not have been more different from their flannel-clad contemporaries. originally conceived as a three-piece, sunny day real estate garnered attention when it added enigmatic lead singer jeremy enigk, whose high-pitched, constantly ascending voice complemented their melodic songs. the group was shrouded in mystery from the get-go: they released only one picture to the press; conducted one interview; and, for some still-unknown reason, never played a show in the state of california with all four members. with the release of their 1994 debut album, "diary", the band achieved newfound fame with the hits "in circles" and "seven". in 1995, the group broke up, but not before releasing that year's "LP2" (which, because of its single-hue design, is usually referred to as "the pink album"). during the break-up, drummer william goldsmith and bassist nate mendel quickly found work with foo fighters, guitarist dan hoerner retreated to a farm in washington, while enigk released "return of the frog queen" in 1996, a set of acoustic songs recorded with a 21-piece orchestra. in the meantime, the group maintained a steady fan base on the internet, with many circles dubbing them as the godfathers of emo music. in 1997, after months of speculation, the group re-formed, minus Mendel (who stayed with foo fighters) and in september 1998 returned with "how it feels to be something on", an album that was met with critical accolades from fans and critics, prompting more media attention than ever as well as a new tour. the cryptically titled album was the first fruit of sunny day real estate's reunion, and it simultaneously smoothed out their sound while shifting it into something altogether more ambitious. always somewhat arty and challenging to begin with, sunny day flirted with out-and-out prog rock,, cleaning up the production to reveal the contrasting layers in their ever more intricate arrangements. there's a droning, almost middle eastern feel to some of the songs, pointing up jeremy enigk's newfound taste for spiritual mysticism. enigk's swooning vocals matured greatly, applying lessons learned from his solo project; gone is the strangled roar he frequently used on "diary". similarly, the band's musicianship continued to sharpen, handling the twisting chord progressions with an easy grace that keeps the songs flowing smoothly into one another. in hindsight, this album was a remarkable step forward from a band that seemed destined to leave its full potential untapped. 2000 saw the release of "the rising tide" which was marked by a gentler tone and a stronger prog rock influence that resulted in some of the best reviews of the band's already acclaimed career. enigk's piercing falsetto really hit its stride and the band's songwriting finally fulfilled their every anthemic ambition however, external forces conspired against the band; the group's new label, "time bomb", had their distribution deal fall through, making promotion and touring all but impossible. additional difficulties with their management soured sessions for a follow-up, and it was announced in june 2001 that sunny day real estate had disbanded. the original line-up re-united again and toured in 2009, mostly playing songs from their first two albums. enigk has talked of another sunny day real estate album but not much is known at this point. still, the group's side project (the fire theft's 2003 self-titled release), and his solo efforts, 2006's "world waits" and 2009's "ok bear" more than fill the void for now.

amazon