THE BIRTH OF THE SUN

As I've studied the musical progression of the brothers Coniguliaro and their collaborators I've noticed that several of their projects that they were kind (and confident) enough to release to the world have now been seemingly abandoned in lieu for other names and projects. The boys first foray into the musical world came under the guidance and tutelage of their musician father, Joe, using the name SUBSTANANCE for the trio from 2012 to 2018. The three MUD MOTHS releases (in 2015 & 2016)) seem to have been the brothers' first forays into music making without their father. In all of these early releases the boys' skills (instrumental, compositional, and engineering/production) were noticeably less proficient than what they have become in this, the third decade of the 21st Century. Obviously, they liked what they were doing as they continued to develop their skills (fairly rapidly after 2016), even having the courage to branch out and start collaborating with musicians outside of their family (like Alex Verbickas on the MIMES and beginning to work with one of their heroes, MATT STOBER on his IN-DREAMVIEW project) as well as inviting outside guests onto their own projects. That leads us to the birth of the SUN COLORED HAIR project. Sun Colored Hair began in 2019 and just released its second full-length album in January of 2023. I look at Sun Colored Hair as an outlet for Quinn, Ben, and Alex to grow by experimenting. Many of the songs I hear- -on both albums (which are, by the way, totally instrumental)--feel like études, i.e. musical forms set up purely to work on new ideas or to work out experimental with stylistic, textural, or temporal issues--to "stretch themselves." This feeling is reinforced by the fact that so many of the songs are brief: one to three minutes in length; even the longer songs are really just suites in which several motifs are being worked on--and in which the various methods of the "connection" of these motifs is being experimented with to the band members' satisfaction. Knowing the musics the Coniguliaro brothers have released in the past two or three years with Matt Sober, as EYELESS OWL (an outlet for Quinn's compositions) and Ben's WIPPY BONSTACK solo albums, I can see that the Sun Colored Hair songs and albums served the brothers more to develop their skills and "chops" so that they could both "play with the big boys" and realize their own individual dreams and goals. I look at Ben's second Wippy Bonstack release from 2022 and marvel at the maturation of his skills and confidence, but now, after getting to know these Sun Colored Chair albums, I see how they served as an incredibly important tool and stepping stone to his (and his brother Quinn's) marvelous growth and development.

1. "The Birth of the Sun" (12:28) a suite of interesting motifs, two major ones within which several other subtly different variations are experimented with (some of which are Genesis- and Brand X-like). (22/25)

2. "Bite the Diamond" (5:23) I hear the sounds of Dif Juz, Frank Zappa, Gentle Giant, and even Ant Phillips in this one. (8.75/10)

3. "Honest Antenna" (3:33) Rush, David Sancious, Dream Theater, and even some of the 1990s prog metal pioneers feel present in this one. (8.75/10)

4. "Hand Castles" (4:10) a gentle, almost sedate sound experiment using a kind of 1980s pop jazzy sound palette. Very nice. (9/10)

5. "Sun Melt / Elated Bump" (10:38) six minutes of very gentle, pleasant pastoral music that remind me a bit of Dev Townsend's acoustic work on his album Ki. Ny favorite song on the album. (18.25/20)

6. "Sungasm" (8:45) More 12-string and acoustic guitar layered chord play over syncopated stop-and-go drum and xylophone play. For the first two-and-a-half minutes it is gentle and fairly melodic, but then it breaks into a frenetic CARDIACs-like multi-dimensional piece before settling into a few other proggy motifs. Very nice, pacifying finishing theme. Another top three song. (18/20)

7. "Rainbow Falls" (4:42) as if Ant Phillips and Fred Frith collaborated on a song. Another favorite--but more cuz I'm a sucker for any of Ant's Private Parts & Pieces. (9.125/10)

8. "Tired Eyed Iron Boot Boy" (3:08) a very nice "complete" song that feels like an Allman Brothers attempt at a prog instrumental. My third favorite song on the album. (8.875/10)

Total Time 52:47

B+/4.5 stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection--especially if you enjoy your prog without singing or lyrics.