Imagine a fairy tale where the romance plays out in rock clubs instead of castles. Justin and Ashley Morey met in 2008 at the Empty Bottle in Chicago when Justin played there with his former band The Black Hollies. They kept in touch, reconnected a year later at the Cake Shop in NYC and began dating long distance while Ashley attended college in Nashville. During her senior year, Justin proposed, and in 2013, with the help of venue owner and longtime friend Todd Abramson, they got married in the back room of Maxwell’s – New Jersey’s most hallowed music hall. It’s safe to say their future was written.
Ashley joined the The Black Hollies on bass for the band’s final tour in 2014, after which she and Justin began writing songs as Sunshine & the Rain – with Ashley on vocals/bass and Justin on guitar. Shortly after the 2015 release of their debut single “Can’t Stop Thinking About You b/w Pale Blue Skies," Abramson introduced the Jersey City-based duo to Jon Spencer. They promptly hit it off and headed out to Sonic Youth’s Echo Canyon West studios to prep the band's first album. Produced by Spencer himself, 2017’s The Darkness of My Night was an undeniable confection of girl group pop hooks, twisty psychedelia, garage-rock grit and punk-rock glam. The album was critically well-received and Justin and Ashley played shows with bands like Ted Leo, Boss Hog, Van Pelt and Pronoun.
In the very dark, very snowy winter of 2017, the couple went back into the studio with the goal of recording a new track or two. A second album wasn’t in the plan – but writing snowballed and plans quickly changed.
Beneath the Stars, recorded with Tom Beaujour at Nuthouse Recording and Kaleidoscope Sound in New Jersey, holds fast to the band’s expert pop sensibility but strips away the heavier psych elements to reveal 80s synth pop, glittery new wave and piano-tinged 70s soft rock. By challenging themselves to write on different instruments and experiment with new textures, sounds and arrangements, the duo was able to give themselves the breathing room, and permission, to evolve naturally. It wasn’t about testing limits, it was about ditching them completely. Ashley, used to writing on a bass and a drum machine, picked up her acoustic guitar, revisiting the folk leanings of her youth. Justin dialed down the electric guitar and pummeling beats, favoring instead a couple of vintage drum machines and Ashley’s childhood keyboard – an old Yamaha that became the workhorse of the album.
The result is a record that’s more spacious, immediate and affecting – but still catchy as all hell. The couple has a gift for crafting sprawling melodies that are equal parts cheeky and sophisticated, adventurous and air-tight. Album opener “It’s All In Your Mind” is pure pop confection laced with handclaps and put-downs – Ashley’s voice may be honey soaked but there’s always plenty of shade to cut the sweetness like a knife. Anchored by a pulsing rhythm section and sweeping synth line, “Just The Way It Goes” could give Young Turks-era Rod Stewart a run for his money and the duo unleash their inner Mickey & Sylvia on on "Too Much Too Soon." “All We Need” melds the playful sophistication of OMD with the melodic swagger of Scritti Politti, while “Today” wields the aspirational heft of a radio-ready power ballad. Elsewhere the album balances clear-eyed anthems with quieter, more confessional moments like “Thank You For Believing In Me,” a sparse, vocal-driven song that’s both the emotional centerpiece of the album – and a happily ever after to the fairy tale.
Sunshine & the Rain have spent 2018 playing out as often as possible, including support slots with the Psychedelic Furs and Ron Gallo.
Beneath the Stars is out Autumn 2018 on Ernest Jenning.
-Beth Wawerna
credits
released October 26, 2018
ash morey – lead vocals, electric bass, piano, electric piano, synthesizers, percussion
justin morey – electric guitar, 12-string guitar, acoustic guitar, backing vocals, percussion, synthesizers, drum machine, bass on 6 & 11
all songs written by ash morey & justin morey
engineered & mixed by tom beaujour
produced by justin morey, ash morey, and tom beaujour
mastered by joel hatstat
recorded at nuthouse recording in hoboken, nj : december 2017 – january 2018 & kaleidoscope sound in union city, nj : february 2018 – april 2018
There's a long lineage of bands who've taken the girl-group sound of the 60s to a more bombastic level. Melding those
classic pop hooks of the past with a more chaotic musical setting. Think Ramones / Jesus & Mary Chain / Suicide / Phantogram or Cults. Now comes the husband wife duo Sunshine & The Rain, adding pummeling drum machines distorted, intense feedback and classic pop hooks....more
supported by 9 fans who also own “Beneath The Stars”
Alvvays has always been great, but with this album they took it to the next level. Every one of these songs is lodged in my brain now, permanently (in a good way). s. moxley
supported by 7 fans who also own “Beneath The Stars”
Opener absolutely rips. Falls into the ranks of tracks like “Dance” by ESG, “Eisbaer” by Grauzone, “Damaged Goods” by Gang of Four or like the album description says Kleenex. This is some really good stuff. Favorite song is the opener but dedicate “Blue” to my friend Blue who lost her life at 22, she would have loved this album. TheBloodofChrist
The Philadelphia group sharpen their hooks and internal dyanmics for a fun and non-dorky take on power pop anyone can get behind. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 26, 2024