Sunny War's earliest independent records were firmly rooted in the blues, but on With the Sun, the California singer/songwriter casts a wider net. Her eclecticism isn't showy, perhaps not even evident, because she moves at a casual, deliberate pace, letting each of the 13 songs unfurl at a slow tempo, but the album never seems lazy. Instead, its gentle nature hides clever lyrical and musical turns of phrase, or how Sunny War can enliven blues tradition with hints of jazz and fingerpicking, not to mention lyrical concerns ...
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Sunny War's earliest independent records were firmly rooted in the blues, but on With the Sun, the California singer/songwriter casts a wider net. Her eclecticism isn't showy, perhaps not even evident, because she moves at a casual, deliberate pace, letting each of the 13 songs unfurl at a slow tempo, but the album never seems lazy. Instead, its gentle nature hides clever lyrical and musical turns of phrase, or how Sunny War can enliven blues tradition with hints of jazz and fingerpicking, not to mention lyrical concerns that unmistakably belong to 2017. As such, With the Sun feels alive and bracing even if its undeniably hushed: it's the work of an artist who is confident enough to whisper. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
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