SETTING SUN – fantasurreal
(CD, Young Love)
It is winter, snow is falling
in heavy drops and melting as soon as it touches the ground, a heavy fog is
soaking everything and is getting dark right early in the afternoon. The
heart and soul are starting to long for the days of summer, when it is warm
and green and the mind is able to wander on its own paths and the sky is the
only limit. In other words it is the perfect time to fill your living
quarters with upbeat, honest pop music that warms up your bones and gives
your spirit some ease. Pop songs so sweet, jangling and filled with good
times that you can close your eyes and imagine all kinds of things; from it
being summer to spending a vacation on a fancy beach on Venus. From meeting
the girl or boy of your live to being the star in your own action movie.
Everything seems possible, no matter how far out it may be. “It’s better
to be in a fantasy, when the truth comes crashing on” it says on
“Handsome Bride” and I am sure that Gary Levitt aka Setting Sun means
every word of it.
And all of this is the deed of
Gary Levitt, who has a knack for writing and recording songs that have just
that edge of pop melody and sweetness, that keep the balance between being
wonderful songs that entertain, giving you a goodtime and being certain to
stick in your mind for a long time. Levitt has also recorded all instruments
himself, with the help of a bunch of friends – among them Erica Quitzow
lending violin (as well as a perfectly fitting cello solo on “don’t grow
up”) and vocals. Some of the songs are deep in the pop realm, such as the
opener “driving”, whereas others almost seem to fall into alternative
country territory, to which a violin and acoustic guitar always helps. He
also takes his songs from overt and direct to a more somber tonality
(especially “sacrifice”) which supports the overall variety and makes
“fantasurreal” a good listen even repeatedly in a small amount of days
What do I mean with that and why is it important? Let’s say
you are stuck in a train compartment between France and England, being fed
water and sandwiches by the authorities, and not knowing how much time you
will have to spend here, seven kilometers beneath the surface of the ocean
above you, having to watch celebrities being rushed off and escorted to the
surface while you as a completely normal person have to stay behind. And for
some reason you only have a few albums on your mp3-player, and one of them
is this, then everything is not so tragic. Listening to “fantasurreal”
you will still be able keep your cool, stay calm and enjoy the time you
have. Because for one, there is nothing you can change anyway, and on the
other hand, you might find out all the nice small things that Levitt has
added to the songs – a spark of trumpet here (“one time around”) and a
rush of strange keyboard sounds there (“into the wire”) – the second
time you listen to the album in a row. And you can rest in the knowledge
that come the time you will be taken off the tunnel and onto the surface of
the world again.
Maybe the refrain to “The
Tree” with its repeated “don’t get carried away or they’ll carry you
away” will help you. Maybe you’ll promise yourself never to get into a
train that rides underneath an ocean again. Maybe something completely
unimaginable will happen to you. Everything is possible when you listen to
this wonderful mix of Sixties psychedelia and modern indie pop. And then
let’s think about this: my year ended and started with great discoveries
of cool songs in pop music (e.g. Hockey, Dust Covered Carpet). It seems as if I am on a
path that slowly but surely takes me away from the fringe, the outright
weird and extreme and excessive. Or maybe that is just a matter of
perspective as anything. Well, as long as there are songs such as
“sacrifice” or “the tree” I couldn’t care less. I feel good and
think I am the same person as ever. Let that tunnel come, I’ll roll right
through it. Let that soggy winter be long and unfriendly, I’ll smile it
right down and the summer right up.
