"Badly mixed and mastered by Desero 80", the description for The Sun Wont Shine Today reads. I'm gonna attack that point first and foremost because it's a) not true, and b) feels kind of symptomatic of how this album feels as a whole. This album is not badly mixed by any stretch, in fact I'd say the production is one of my favourite things about it. But that self-deprecation runs right through the core of the album, for better and worse.
The Sun Wont Shine Today is a classically post-punk album specifically in the lineage of Joy Division. It sounds a lot like Joy Division, and it's clear that the vocals are heavily inspired by the vocal styling of the late Ian Curtis. Big drums drive solid basslines, thin guitar noodles and synths, and booming barely decipherable vocals. It sounds great to my ears, but then I have a particular soft spot for Joy Division and post-punk in general.
I also love depressing music, and that is another thing that Desero 80's album shares with Joy Division. Lyrically, this album is bleak to the point of often coming off as self-pitying. This isn't necessarily a problem, but I would be lying if I said that it didn't start to feel a touch one-note as the album went on. Songs like No New Motion and Reflections are mood pieces that lack a bit of melodic complexity that could have made them more engaging listens.
Things do pick up in the back half, though. Nettles is slow and moody and despite having a near identical melody to the aformentioned No New Motion, it fits better here. The synth part adds an extra dimension that adds both a sense of sadness and nostalgia to the song. Things get even better with The Time Is Never Now which has an honest-to-God chorus, and then finally with the closing track The Sun On My Face.
The Sun On My Face is as hopeful as the album gets and it really does feel like a ray of sunshine after the six tracks that preceded it, despite still being sadder than most songs you're likely to hear in a given day.
The consistent thing, though, is that these songs sound great. Every single one. I think at points the songwriting itself leaves a little to be desired, with songs often feeling underdeveloped both lyrically and melodically, but I do believe it's within Desero 80's abilities to release a truly fantastic album. I just hope that they can recognise that within themselves, too.