By: Josh Kitchen / September 26, 2024
All photos by Josh Kitchen
When I interviewed Sunday (1994) back in March of this year, the band told me that their lyrics "are very visual, so you see the film in your mind’s eye. We paired our songs with films that made sense, and it just sort of worked." Watching the band at their debut show at the Echo in Los Angeles on Monday night, it was hard not to be transported back to not just the films released around the band's namesake of the 90's, but also more elemental and classic films like the Universal monster classics, Bride of Frankenstein, The Invisible Man, or Dracula. Lead singer Paige Turner's white dress evoking the Bride, and partner and guitarist Lee Newell, a mad scientist devising nefarious guitar twang. To me, this is a perfect encapsulation of their music, shiny and soft on the outside with a litany of horrors underneath waiting to be examined. These are horrors that aren't rare to most human beings, and it's clear that the visual element witnessed at this show was just as important to Sunday (1994) as their songs.
Sunday (1994) first came onto the scene in February of this year with their debut single, "Tired Boy." "Tired Boy" floored me the first time I heard it, reminding not only of some of my favorites like The Smiths, (an amazing quote I heard from someone walking around the Echo was "It's so Smiths-coded, I love it.") Pulp, or Mazzy Star, the song and its rollout intentionally evoked films like The Virgin Suicides, 500 Days of Summer, and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, with clips of these films against their songs on TikTok. The songs are melancholic and insular, with just enough humor sprinkled in. The audio/visual experience on display at the Echo experience was sometimes too much to handle. It engulfed you and you couldn't help but feel wrapped up in the push and pull. You didn't want it to end.
Since "Tired Boy," the band has released a full EP of nine songs, all of which were played at the Echo. Highlights included "Blonde" to open the show, "Stained Glass Window," and the aforementioned "Tired Boy" to close. With the amount of material and content the band has released so far this year, this debut show felt like revelatory release, the band was clearly excited to finally get these songs into the live setting. "We're Sunday (1994), and this is Monday, 2024. What the fuck?" Turner said in disbelief. The band's excitement bordered on delirium, with Newell bragging that "they had just hit #102 on the Shazam charts...in Qatar!"
While this nugget was clearly played for laughs, the sentiment was clear. You could tell that Sunday (1994) were humbled to be on stage with a sold out crowd singing along to nearly every lyric. Paige Turner is a great frontwoman, immediately establishing a loving and contractual relationship with the audience - I'm going to give it and you're going to give it back. For 45 minutes, it was equal parts call and response. This was an audience that was just as desperate to finally hear these songs live as the band were to be debuting them. Sunday (1994) might be a brand new band, but they're one that demands to be witnessed in concert.
After a few more shows coming up in New York and London, the band will be supporting Girl in Red this fall. After that you can expect a flurry of activity in 2025. Sunday (1994)'s debut show was outstanding. If you're in New York or London, you cannot miss them.
Follow Sunday (1994) here and listen to their debut EP below:
コメント