Heartbreaking Bravery

While the full streams and music videos to close out last week were accounted for in the preceding post, there were still streams from The Exquisites, Nots, Human People, Gurr, Sun Angle, Lubec, Hippocampus, Goes Cube, Klozapin, Toy Cars, Muuy Biien, Public Access TV, Yuppies Indeed, Lizzy Rose, KROY, Early Morning Rebel, Grapell, and Personal Space that deserved a whole lot of credit. While this post exists in part to amend that oversight, it has a dual purpose in putting the focus on Strange Ranger — who were formerly releasing music under the moniker Sioux Falls — and their extraordinary new track, “Sunbeams Through Your Head”.

Opening with a haunted segment driven by a glacial guitar figure and haunting falsetto, “Sunbeams Through Your Head” immediately stands out. There’s an intangible quality to the intro that’s progressively expanded on throughout the course of the song, which runs just under the two minute mark. While it boast a short run time, there’s nothing easy or simplistic about the song’s ensuing tapestries of ambient overlays and meticulous instrumentation (some of it being slightly reminiscent of Told Slant‘s recent masterwork, Going By).

Not a single moment of “Sunbeams Through Your Head” is anything less than gripping, allowing the listener to be slowly submerged into a serene parallel universe. Even as the song gains intensity in its latter moments, there’s a peaceful quality that manifests itself at every turn, creating an absorbing experience that borders the transcendent. Dynamic, gorgeous, and absolutely breathtaking, it’s difficult to imagine that there could be anything better than “Sunbeams Through Your Head” to serve as the start of the band’s newest chapter. If nothing else, it’s a potent reminder that theirs is a story that deserves to be followed.

Listen to “Sunbeams Through Your Head” below and pre-order the record here.