And The Kitchen Sink  

Sunfold, formerly Sedona, and once upon a time inspiriting the bodies of the Annuals has arrived full circle by returning as the Raleigh group that personified them best. Whether that’s bluegrass, indie-rock concerto, or just trials of psych folk is anyone’s guess. But with their latest Toy Tugboats, the Carolina ensemble makes a brazen case as masters of all three.

This second offering as a sister band to the Annuals isn’t afraid to pour over new instruments and ideas alike. Opener ‘Oregon’ is a soft, angelic, uplifting cry that paves the way for the diverse peaks and valleys found throughout. Frontman and producer Kenny Florence shows off his wide sweet-and-sour vocal range in songs like ‘Sailed off to Sea’ and even artfully molds himself around the booming bass and brash banjos of ‘Shiftshapin’. Crafted to always keep you on your toes, Tugboats changes styles and instrumentation more than Sunfold changes their underpants. The results are real (not forced) genuine country-rock events: think of an amalgamation of Broken Social Scene’s instrumental variance sprinkled with a spacious range of vocal chic making it less mundane and more premeditated. Better yet, imagine if Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys swallowed Coldplay.

Toy Tugboats is an intelligent, highly polished, possibly over produced work of art. So much so that it can feel a bit pretentious. Like the guy trying too hard - who puts on the trendy album over a candle light dinner to impress his lady, those cold moments in a Volkswagen alone, or a tepid bubble bath; Sunfold can come off as exaggerated to the point of hallow.  But by pulling out all the stops and subsequently all the instruments Tugboats still manages to stay afloat (how many bands can actually claim to use a hammered dulcimer?). They may make you dig deeper but there are classical roots aplenty feeding this machine … and almost a classic in and of itself.

John Niederkorn