Brighton, MA

A-SIDE: Slow Fade; New Underground; Comfy; V-Day
B-SIDE: Sweet Delusions; Fare Thee Well; Like/Love Crowd

Download available at brightonma.bandcamp.com

Billboard Sun is the latest collection of music by Brighton MA, and it’s easily their most cohesive sound to date. The seven songs are shaped by singer Matt Kerstein’s rough swagger, layered intricate guitars, and the rattling heaviness of their rhythm section.

From the finesse and sparkle of the opener Slow Fade, to the bombs-bursting-in-air of New Underground, the band covers a lot of sonic terrain in just two tracks. Switching gears, they dive into a drum-free acoustic gem called Comfy that finds cellos and banjo weaving behind 12-string guitars and self-reflecting lyrics. The echoey ballad, V-Day, closes the A-side; Kerstein offering a heartfelt love song without using the word ‘love.’

Archer Prewitt [The Sea & Cake, The Coctails] contributed production on Comfy and on V-Day, while guitarist Jim Tuerk manned the production on the rest. And perhaps his stamp is best heard on the B side (Sweet Delusions, Fare Thee Well, Like/Love Crowd). The toughness of drummer Sam Koentopp and bassist Jon Ozaksut pervade these three tracks and the ace-team of Tuerk and fellow guitarist Joe Darnaby elaborate on the arrangement with guitars and effects flourishing with floating loops, modulating echos, and glass-shattering fuzz. Air-guitar enthusiasts will not be starved for material on the B-Side—two tracks end with tandem lead guitars between Tuerk and Darnaby.