Suns Need Your Help

By Sarah Cobarrubias in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 18, 2011 3:00PM

Local indie rockers Suns have been hard at work on their first full-length album, When We Were Us, and now they’re ready to record it. But as is the plight of so many indie bands, they can’t afford to, so they started a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funds.

Last-year, the 6-piece band released two EPs: Close Calls in the U.S. Space Program and The Howl and the Many. What attracted us to Suns’ sound was its kaleidoscopic nature; their rich, symphonic songs are composed of mandolin, glockenspiel, clarinet and harmonium in addition to guitar, synth and dual drums. And the two EPs are of different moods - Close Calls is dark and gloomy indie rock, while The Howl (which was recorded six months later) is more energized, experimental and not surprisingly the better of the two.

After their double EP release, the band toured the states and played a bunch of shows, but now they’re settled at home and ready to get down to business. According to the Kickstarter project, they’ll record the album with the help of local producer Theo Karon, who also had a hand in albums by This Is Cinema, Thin Hymns and Pillars and Tongues. Then they’ll do the album’s mixing, mastering and pressing themselves.

Check out their music first -- both of their previous EPs are available as free downloads -- and then decide if you want to donate. A ten buck pledge gets you a digital download of the new album a week before its release date, and a $25 pledge gets you the download and a vinyl copy. They’re also offering a home-cooked meal, a chance to sing or perform on the album or a live, personal performance for upper-priced pledges.