40 Watt Sun – Wider Than The Sky (2016)

December 30, 2022

As much as I want to be a grown-up music reviewer and as much as I want bands and artists to naturally grow and evolve, I simply gotta say: goddamn I miss it when 40 Watt Sun was heavy. Distortion-filled 40 Watt, both live and on-record, is some of the best stuff that I have ever witnessed. 

Not that I do not appreciate what Patrick Walker is doing here, of course. I saw 40 Watt Sun live before this came out, and the stripped back sound initially took me aback, but I was confident that things would work out. I’d be lying, even through my own distortion-loving prejudice, if I said things didn’t work out for 40 Watt Sun on Wider Than The Sky. It is, if I may say so, a damn fine album. 

It is however, an album that is dominated by it’s colossal opening tack, “Stages”, which I didn’t get past during the first three or four listens. The album has grown on me however, and I would say “Another Room” and the closing track “Marazion” are some of my favourites. Marazion is also a really cool place, you should visit it if you get the chance.