DOMINIC FIKE'S NEW ALBUM SUNBURN KEEPS UP WITH THE WARM WEATHER OF THE SEASON
The Florida native has returned after three years of near-silence, with his new record reflecting on the past while keeping to the present.
Dominic Fike has been making waves as a creative in the last few years following the release of his 2020 pandemic record 'What Could Possibly Go Wrong?', surfing between acting on the hit-show Euphoria, touring, doing music for superhero films, all while reflecting in the pond of his emotions & channeling his inner turmoil into his new record, leading to mixed results.
Sunburn is a record of meditating on life, the moments that leave their marks on us, much like that of a sunburn on a sweltering summer day, and much like a sunburn, it is far from perfect, filled with a series of awkward moments. Although, not everything is bumpy on this record. Dominic swims around summery seas to find new and old sounds alike to make this album, leading to some successes, as well as some failures.
Dominic is quick to get to the point of the record with the opener, How Much Is Weed? The Radiohead-esque sounding song features smooth guitar licks as still as water in a pond, the disturbing clatter and clang of jangly but steady drums, and Dominic's initially deadpan tone, calmly flipping through a photo book with "the color faded from it" reflecting on the rough patches from his early years, naming elusive characters from his past and making personal references to tense moments only he will ever truly understand, adding a layer of personality and closeness to the record. The verses are filled with swashes of anger as he continues to reflect on how these tense moments lead to some of the harsher times he's come across in recent years, stumbling in and out of jail and drug abuse. It is an emotional record swirling in heartbreak and anguish while still managing to keep it cool sonically.
Those intense emotions initially featured in the album's opener are translated into sexual tension on Ant Pile. Ant Pile is yet another track about reflection, as Dominic dives into a past relationship he had in high school, and rather than focusing on the emotional aspect and continuing down that train that we were being led down with the first track, focuses on the sexual aspects of their relationship. Dominic uses sex and the vulnerability it has to offer to explore the emotional connection he once had with this woman, and how that important and special that is. While it is a nice metaphor and links to the album's themes of reflection well, Dominic's performance of this track is poor, dragging out his syllables and over-emphasizing the southern twang that usually hangs in the back of his voice. His cadence is slow and slimy, making this a difficult listen. Musically it feels somewhat tacky, with obnoxious, blaring guitar riffs that sound like they're off a 70's classic rock record you would find in the dollar bin of a record store. It has its quirks but some of the textures make it a difficult listen for me.
Think Fast features the infamous yet legendary band Weezer. Playing on the quickness of life, both in large and small moments as Dominic sings, "I'm born, I sing, I leave" to emphasize the pacing of life itself. While this song is great at delivering its point across, it also has its few awkward lines such as tacky name drops on big-name brands such as Louis Vitton that come off as out of place. Sonically this song is gorgeous, with a bassline dragging itself along the floor of the song, letting the other layers build off it, such as the breezy strums of guitars, whimsical backing vocals, and rattling drums. All these elements make the track warm and very on point for the season, but more importantly lead up to a great and explosive final delivery of the chorus, being as volcanic and firey as the summer sun beating down on the back of one's neck, all before crescendoing back to earth with the folk-based guitar lines present earlier in the track.
The now fast pace isn't lost on Sick. This song is simultaneously smooth and jittery, with Dominic slow dancing with the memories of his lover whom he made mistakes with in the past that he's trying to make up for now, and the clattering of drums and layers of folk and rock swinging back and forth between one another without missing a step, dancing on top of a bassline, loose and free-spirited. To plainly put it, this track is fun, short, and sweet, and doesn't stay past its welcome, but doesn't leave before it's told to.Â
7 hours slows us down a little bit, but keeps on theme sonically, with a wirey guitar panning ear-to-ear, an electronic bass shortly stepping here and there, and a very pop-sounding drum pattern that works with the other crisp layers of the track. It also has random screaming sounds in the background. These have thrown me off every time I've heard them. Why are they in here? Dominic's tin-toned voice resembles that of vocal manipulation featured on the final projects released by Brockhampton, as Dominic sings about driving to see his lover, showing a newfound sense of romantic dedication that was lost on his last record, proving his maturity and growth.
Dominic doesn't seem to be able to land on whether or not he wants a well or poorly-written record though, as he follows up with the tacky track Dancing In The Courthouse. This poorly mixed imagine-dragons rip-off remains incoherent and messy, with a mash of sounds colliding with each other. I don't have much to say about this song, it isn't very enjoyable, sounds made purely to be played on forgotten radio stations or in echoey supermarkets. It's background music. There is no other way to say it.
Mona Lisa on the other hand is a fun romantic dance cut off the record, managing to keep it low-key yet groovy. Slick guitar licks slide across the bubbly bass like a skater on an ice rink who actually knows what they are doing rather than falling flat on their face. The clap and bass and overall dance/house aesthetics are a nice change of pace for the record. They move Dominic out of his comfort zone musically, while still proving itself a success. Lyrically, Dominic keeps the fun up, describing that love feels like radio chatter you can never turn off no matter what you try to do, comparing his lover to the Mona Lisa and everywhere else he sees her (that being everywhere), and keeping on the theme for the record, reflecting on this relationship he has now, and what he had before her, and what lead up to this relationship. It's tender, sweet, and very fun.Â
Bodies, unlike Ant Pile, uses sex to reflect more awkwardly, but rather than focusing on his sexuality to reflect, uses his partner's sexuality and past with other lovers to reflect on his own emotions of jealousy. It feels a lot more uncomfortable and comes off as a lot stiffer when using sex as a lens into the past. Not only that, musically it doesn't grab at the listener as much, using chopped vocal samples sparsely, the same wirey guitar that was used earlier in the record. Reusing sounds on albums is obviously okay, but this sounds like the exact same chord pattern, making the track feel stale. The bass as well is just super overpowering in the mix and is very flatly toned. This isn't an enjoyable track and does not live up to the track that came right before it.
The title track returns to Dom's rap routes and reflects on his own life outside of romance, as he talks about the hardships that came with Mom going in and out of jail and the poor decisions made by his friends. This track while being clouded with this layer of depressing images has rays of light crack through with catchy lines such as "when I die, baby, lay me in the sun" repeated throughout. This track is tender sonically as well, with Dominic's voice not only being used as a tether of his emotions but as an instrument, backing the melancholic, muffled tones that create the aura this song brings.
We return to the reflections of romance on Pasture Child. There is a sense of distance between the two lovers at hand that we experience when listening to this track with standout lines such as "Way back before we went digital." This isolated piece of romance's depictions of space comes with maturity and growing older, and are compared to technology and how it can play a role in keeping people connected. This track is hazy, touched by sunkissed, lazy guitar riffs, hushed drums, and a somber guitar solo gently matching Dominic's soft, near-whispering tone.Â
4x4Â continues down the calming route as we enter the final leg of the album, dedicating itself to a drumless guitar tune, layering several intricate pieces on top of one another and an additional piano piece lurking in the background. This track's soothing sound feels like laying in a stack of hay in a cool barn on a scorching summer day, doing anything to stay out of the unforgiving heat. Dominic's voice only adds to this atmosphere, as he reflects on his naive image of utopia from his youth, and how those dreams never truly will reflect the reality of life.
The energy picks back up on Frisky, bringing us a short but delicate rock song with a more celebratory nature to it than other tracks on the record as Dominic croons about "having a bottle for two." The clattering of the drums sounds like the clinking of glasses, with the same wirey guitar used throughout the album making a return, and digital bass stepping up and down the scale. Even with this track being so short, it becomes slighty stale quickly, with not a lot of development happening on the track. Regardless, it is still a sweet tune and a fun listen.
Mama's Boy is a track that hasn't stuck with me primarily due to Dominic's staccato vocal delivery, cutting himself off too early, creating this blocky, uneven flow that messes with the fluidity of the track. This blockiness isn't only found in Dominic's vocals, as the instruments follow a similar route, with very stiff drums, and off-putting chimes slipping in and out between the drums. It sounds like something you would make the very first time you discovered Garage Band. The track closes on another uncomfortable texture as well, with Dominic's vocals pitched up to sound childlike, bringing in a children's choir aesthetic to it that is creaky and unsatisfying.
Dark makes a comeback from the robotic and stiff movements of Mama's Boy and finds Dom comparing how he started making music versus where he is now, describing the early moments in his life with colorful descriptive words, and the new life he's encompassed himself with using tasteless, whitewashed words that lack true joy or meaning. This distaste for fame and success isn't a first for Dominic, but this is by far his best description of the unbridled emotions he feels about the subject. The lo-fi production on the track is reminiscent of Dom's earlier works, with echoey guitars, washed pads, and a very bedroom pop aesthetic, feeding into these ideas of nostalgia.
We finally come to the album closer with What Kinda Woman, which feels more like a very early demo rather than a fully completed song, bringing a sense of raw emotion as the track simply consists of a guitar and Dominic himself. There is an innate sense of blame being placed on a woman in Dominic's life, whether that be his lover or his mother, that we are unsure of. It somewhat comes off as immature after a record about reflection on one's actions and past, making you question how much did Dominic really grow since his last full-length project.
Sunburn is a messy project with a lot of ups and downs spread throughout. While this album features some highs from Dominic, especially in his songwriting, it also features some of his poorest work to date, making this record feel convoluting and at times disappointing. That being said, there are still plenty of highlights off of this record worth returning to, especially for a hot summer such as this one we're currently facing, and has some worthwhile highlights to check out.