Sonny and the Sunsets

Sonny Smith has always had a lacerated honesty to his music, though its also usually come with a quick pop smirk that belayed its open-hearted approach. On his latest, Longtime Companion, Sonny drops the smirk and uses the breakdown of his longterm relationship as the basis for a country album that feels soaked in authentic, dirt scrubbed openness. Bolstered by members of his lesser known band The Fuckaroos, the album hangs on a shuffle beat and sways bittersweet and low down on strums and slides of guitars. Its a classic kind of country but run through a pop filter, with echoes of The Byrds and Flying Burrito Brothers running in its veins. Sonny's a bit of a musical chameleon and I can't say this is the move I expected but then again I can't say its all that surprising that with a huge emotional nudge, this is the territory he's run into. Each listen seems to endear Longtime Companion to the quiet moments and sad valleys in your life and run in perfect accompaniment alongside the tears and to the bottom of each glass.

Listen:


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