We last heard from Rochester, NY based artist Clear Sun (You may also know him as Jeffrey Hull, Hania Yiska, Mad Hugs, Clear Sun, JiBaH, or Nostalgic Afterlife) almost a year ago, with his release of his electronic album Hidden Room Dream, something we found to be “a bright and entertaining foray through a captivating forest of electronic sounds“. This year, he’s back with a new album Someday She Will Find Me, which he tells us has been inspired by the fact that he’s over his past relationships and has found contentment in the single life.
HERE’S WHAT WE DUG MOST…
If there’s one feature that remains constant across Hull’s work, it’s his ability to create sounds that fully immerse the listener. On the opening track Wondering, we’re treated to this right away, a nostalgiac layer of vinyl crackling under warm, uncomplicated synths that give way to a sax-inspired lead. The track ebbs and flows in intensity and complication, but at its core it is light and easy, like the early evening on a weekend in the summertime.
An element detectable across projects is Hull’s ability to be novel in each moment- utilizing completely different instruments arrangements on every song. Higher Purpose departs starkly from the tones of the previous track into something stronger and more cinematic. String-based but with an arguably R&B beat, the inclusion of the piano brings an organic, angelic overlay to the track. Chaos reigns for a brief moment at 3:21 as the established melody collapses, only to be replaced by something even more ethereal. But then that, too, seems to fall apart at the very end. It’s a sonic journey, perhaps symbolic in reference to the title. But the skipping and distorting that happens at the end of this track sends us nearly seamlessly into Holy, which starts on a similar note, but then snowballs into an intense, rapid-fire, dissonant collection of sounds that walks the line between mayhem and music. Much of the album can be consumed this way – each track as an individual part of a journey written in sound.
We also love Girlfriend Imaginary for its metallic, industrial feel. Despite a heavy and technical approach to the arrangement, the leading melodic riff gives it a mournful feel at times – though this is largely broken up by the complex, textured sounds that are constantly moving beneath.
OUR FAVORITE TRACK…
She’s From Another Galaxy is one of the more energetic and vibrant tracks on the album, but it’s also one of the most digestible from a compositional perspective. The simple melody we’re given in the beginning is a constant throughout the piece, holding things down through moments of dissonance and complex rhythms. With layer upon layer of synth and percussion, it still very much retains what has become identifiable as the Clear Sun signature sound. The best part about this kind of structure is that the song retains a bit of newness – a riff unheard, a rhythm previously undetected – that recurs with every listen.
IN CONCLUSION…
On a Clear Sun album, one thing is certain – you may not be able to predict what kind of arrangements Jeffrey Hull is going to come up with, but you can be sure you’ll be discovering an array of intricate, nuanced layers of electronic music that will mesmerize and will never once be boring. For fans of electronic music that pushes the genre boundaries while still remaining accessible, Some Day She Will Find Me is well worth a listen.
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BELOW: Listen to Someday She Will Find Me and connect with his website and social media platforms. Please support Clear Sun by visiting him online, and playing, downloading, and/or purchasing his music, or attending a live show! And, as always, thank you for supporting real music!
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