The Sunshine Underground return with an electronic third album

The Sunshine Undeground ditch their guitars in favour of synths in their new self-titled LP

The Sunshine Undeground – The Sunshine Undeground  7/10

Released on 19^th May 2014 via Lovers/Absolute

Four years after the release of
Nobody Is Coming To Save You The Sunshine Underground return with their third self-titled studio album. Since the departure of former member Daley Smith, the Leeds quartet has become a trio and reinvented their sound by discovering the potential of synths and refocusing on their first love, electronica. Produced by Ross Orton –  whose recent credits include Arctic Monkeys’ Mercury nominated 2013 album AM –  and hugely influenced by bands like LCD Soundsystem and Talking Heads,
The Sunshine Underground  is a collection of captivating contemporary electronic dance songs. First track
Start is representative of the new change of direction and from its opening notes it is clear The Sunshine Underground are not a guitar band anymore; the punk guitar riffs characteristic of their previous material have been replaced by a large amount of synths, beats and cowbells. Apart from a few lo-fi and more relaxed tracks such as
Battles and
Here Come The Storm, the record is very energetic and lively. Despite not having a unique sound, there are plenty of irresistible up-tempo and bright melodies reminiscent of 80’s electro pop bands like New Order and Depeche Mode that might make you dance on the spot or want to go to a spinning class at the gym, especially the standout
Finally We Arrive,
It Is Only You and
The Same Old Ghosts. Overall the album is intriguing and definitely worth a listen. Some fans might be disappointed with the radical change of direction and might be nostalgic of songs such as
Borders or
Put You In Your Place, however the band has retained the approach in delivering warm and contagious songs which sound even better when played live. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g23WO4Y_7eA&feature=youtu.be 7/10 Read our interview with singer Craig Wellington
HERE Read our live review
HERE The Sunshine Underground will be heading out on a UK tour in October, after some festival dates in May: May 23
^rd – Dirty Weekender (Glasgow) Oct 1
^st – Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton Oct 2
^nd – Riverside, Newcastle Oct 3
^rd – King Tuts, Glasgow Oct 4
^th – Fruit, Hull Oct 5
^th – Kazimer, Liverpool Oct 7
^th – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham Oct 8
^th – Sound Control, Manchester Oct 10
^th – Cockpit, Leeds Oct 11
^th – Sugarmill, Stoke Oct 12
^th – Bowery District, Reading Oct 14
^th – The Fleece, Bristol Oct 15
^th – Scala, London Oct 16
^th – Green Door Store, Brighton Oct 17
^th – Esquires, Bedford Oct 18
^th – Kasbah, Coventry Oct 20
^th – Epic Studios, Norwich Oct 22
^nd – 53 Degrees, Preston Find the band online: 
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