Sundays/Tan Vinyl

Description

« The San Francisco musician Hannah Van Loon marries the dreamlike strangeness of the last hours of the weekend with the heaviness of shoegaze on a debut album co-written and produced by Chaz Bear of Toro Y Moi. » – Pitchfork Sundays is the first full album by Tanukichan, originally from Oakland, aka multi-instrumentalist Hannah van Loon. On the surface, the album sounds exactly like the title describes: blurry, dreamy, reflective, like a lazy Sunday afternoon. On the second and third listen, the dreamy music reveals a deeper world: a constant feeling of nostalgia, an endless summer, and a period of instability that haunts us all at one time or another in our lives. Raised in San Francisco, van Loon started out making classical, bluegrass, and jazz music, while playing in many local bands before deciding to do something more personal. What began as a few blurry demos, with van Loon playing all the instruments herself at home, became a studio experience and a viable collection of music after her friend Anthony Ferraro of Astronauts, Etc. introduced her to Chaz Bear, founder of Company Records (Toro Y Moi, Les Sins). After collaborating on her 2016 EP Radiolove, van Loon and Bear set out to create a much more sonically cohesive release, with the producer and artist playing all the instruments on the record. The result is a slice of dream pop that can only come from the combination of California's laid-back atmosphere and the nostalgic and often difficult memories generally associated with coming of age. For van Loon, the Sunday tracks are a form of reflection and approaching life's problems from a different and less complex angle. « Sometimes, for me, it's easier to write songs about things than to talk. A lot of things in life are complex and paradoxical, but with songs, it always seems simpler. » The opening track « Lazy Love » sets the stage, both sonically and lyrically, for the rest of the album, combining vulnerable lyrics with beautiful blurry tones. Over punchy synths and guitar sounds, van Loon sings « you know I would do anything/you don't know I'm trying my best/if I could wake up when the sun rises », showcasing the album's constant theme of balancing the desire to be the best person possible while feeling a subtle joy in letting life unfold as it wants. « Natural » is a perfect road trip track, a song that vibrates on an upbeat rhythm, culminating in the pure excitement of finally spending an evening alone with someone you've loved for a while, amidst many ups and downs: « a window too bright/it's the natural light/the gray fades to become a white lie/kissing you tonight/it's a natural high/help me feel good. » The tracks collectively address a deep feeling of longing for someone, for something new, while feeling satisfied with one's life; an awareness that perhaps the places you've always belonged are no longer where you should be, that suddenly you're searching for something completely different. « I chose the name Sundays as the title of the record because it reflected what the record made me feel, » van Loon shares. « I was thinking about laziness, and the dreamlike clarity you feel after a late night, waking up to face the world with a new perspective. » Sundays encapsulates this feeling, a nostalgic way of seeing the world, waking up feeling a little different than before, looking back on life, not knowing if you can face what's next, but doing your best, day after day.