2017 saw the release of Shuggy Mountain Breakdown, the breakout indie-psych rock album from Western mass based Sun Parade, an album made excellent by its inventive song structures and creative blending of disparate rock subgenres. The band has released two singles since then, ‘WUNNANUTHUR TIME’ which released this past fall and ‘Young Adult’ which came out in January.

The two singles represent a sort of saline drip for fans like myself, keeping me going before I get to enjoy another diverse, exciting, wonderfully dynamic album from the up and coming band. WUNNANUTHUR is the more straightforward of the two, it’s a funky R&B inspired pop song complete with soprano’d vocals. The song is enjoyable but probably runs a little too long, though my attention is kept thanks to a funky set of riffs late in the song.

‘Young Adult’, meanwhile, drifts toward dream pop, and, paired with backing rhythm of jingle bells and a quirky yet subdued vocal melody, the song evokes late aught’s indie pop. Sporadically soaring, with melodramatic vocals and carnivalistic playfulness, the song becomes almost festive. Neither single quite captures the inventiveness of Shuggy Mountain’s repertoire, but they represent a solid output from the burgeoning Northampton band.