Desert Suns - "Edge of the Sky"
Desert Suns is a band from San Diego, California who has been making music since about 2013. Since their inception, the band has undergone a few lineup and style changes, but is still going strong over a decade later. Aside from their infectious signature sound that has a tendency to maintain a base of heavy blues interlaced with psychedelia, progressive rock, and metal (much more on the nuances of this later), Desert Suns is a band who really exemplifies just how often our favorite heavy underground musicians wear many hats:
In 2021, vocalist Jason Busiek (also of Sea of Snakes, a favorite group of mine) joined the band. Desert Suns guitarist AJ Belluto also played bass in Supersonic Dragon Wagon (yet another favorite for me), and he's one of Desert Suns' founding members along with drummer Ben McDowell. AJ Belluto and current Desert Suns bassist Gabe Fonseca are also in a death metal band called Kushtaka. Finally, AJ recorded and mixed Desert Suns' new album Edge of the Sky, while Jason took on mastering duties. It always blows my mind that so many skilled underground musicians lend their talents to multiple projects, often while holding down a full-time job and raising a family, and they do it well. Hats off to you, gentlemen!
With all that said, I'd never heard of Desert Suns before until I heard their single "Luck of the Draw" when it came out in October 2024. Upon hearing the vocals, I gasped aloud, "That's the dude from Sea of Snakes!" Desert Suns subsequently announced they'd be releasing their newest album, Edge of the Sky in December, and the rest is history...I knew I had to hear more.
Without further ado, let's get into Edge of the Sky track by track:
Edge of the Sky
1.) Sweet Sorrow
Sweet Sorrow, the second single from Edge of the Sky, was released in late November 2024 and was the one that really got me excited about the album. If you know anything about my musical preferences, that won't come as a surprise once you hear this emotive yet weighty track. Sweet Sorrow begins with a doleful doomy-psych mood and evolves into a triumphant progressive rock atmosphere as it continues. Notes of psychedelia remain a constant along with whispers of the desert. However, skirmishes with mournful doom are still encountered as this hauntingly beautiful song plays out, its intricate composition dancing across the entire spectrum of emotion.
2.) Luck of the Draw
Luck of the Draw, as mentioned earlier, was my first taste of Desert Suns' sound, and it really is a great place to start. This is primarily because it's absolutely saturated with the band's trademark heavy blues influence, but it boasts just as many stoner/desert, psychedelic, and grunge textures, giving it a delightfully rugged feel overall. The grooving chorus is undoubtedly infectious and, if you're anything like me, you'll be getting it stuck in your head for the foreseeable future (not that I'm complaining). Luck of the Draw also really drew my attention to just how incredible the guitar work is throughout this album. The last two minutes of Luck of the Draw are overflowing with some killer musicianship and incredible dimension via wailing progressive rock, 70s heavy rock, and classic metal influences that are sure to grab your attention.
3.) Real Eyes
Real Eyes is another blues-forward track that begins in a very cool way: with the guitars calling and answering the main riff to each other. The style of blues here differs from the one used in Luck of the Draw; this time there's a noticeable southern influence. Everything is a bit more slowed down and sultry, and the notes seem to linger a bit longer (in typical southern fashion). Certain guitar parts even remind me a bit of a distant train whistle.
There's also a big grunge influence in Real Eyes, which goes hand-in-hand with the southern rock textures. My favorite part occurs about midway through the song when doom and metal very naturally fold into the mix and intensify as Real Eyes progresses. I'm also a big fan of the vocal harmonies used in the choruses. Although brief, they give the song a haunting quality that works impeccably well with the overall mood.
4.) Daisy Chain
Daisy Chain switches gears quite a bit by being strikingly psychedelic in the best way. However, there's just as much of a grunge and prog sound here, which ultimately gives a hint of an early Black Crowes vibe (except Desert Suns is infinitely heavier and adds a layer of darkness with their doom and metal inclinations). While Daisy Chain vacillates between lighter and darker vibes throughout its duration, it's a feel-good song in my book - one that inspires you to let loose and crank the music up, as the song quite literally implores you to do.
5.) Fata Morgana
The longest song on the album at just over seven and a half minutes, Fata Morgana (which, put simply, refers to a type of mirage usually seen on the open ocean), was originally released as a standalone single back in October 2023.
This is a very unique track, especially as it begins with a retro 70s/80s prog rock sound that's actually incredibly soothing. When the vocals kick in, they're not what you'd expect to hear from Jason Busiek at first, and I mean that in a good way. Although as powerful and impassioned as ever, the trademark grungy growl in temporarily stifled, resulting in a much more melodic tone that blends beautifully well with this tranquil intro. It's really cool to hear another side of Jason's vocals, showing just how versatile he is as a singer.
Not quite halfway through, Fata Morgana launches into what I could best call heavy desert prog, which is as great as it sounds with a gritty yet soaring and melodic tone. An undercurrent of stoner/doom drops in to help take the song out, and the notes of psychedelia and blues it contains really remind me of the same way Black Sabbath utilized a blues influence in their music.
While these seven plus minutes absolutely fly by, Fata Morgana is a song meant to be savored, containing a little bit of multiple styles of heavy music with something that will resonate with everyone. Along those same lines, I really feel like this particular track is representative of the new direction Desert Suns is going with their sound, and it showcases not only their unique style, but their instrumental and vocal aptitude.
Final Thoughts
Let me start by saying that I'll never pretend to be an expert on blues and its varying offshoots, but I hear more than one style of blues on Edge of the Sky. There's definitely more of a classic heavy blues style, a southern rock/grunge-tinted version, and finally, a psych-injected Sabbathian rendition to end the album. This is truly a breath of fresh air and brings me to my next point: heavy blues albums often feel very one-note to me. Now, I know this is just my personal tastes and biases working against me, and of course Edge of the Sky isn't solely a heavy blues album by any means. The point is this album couldn't be further from flat. It's cut like a diamond with multiple facets including progressive rock, desert rock, doom, grunge, heavy metal, and good old fashioned heavy rock to name a few. What's more, these influences vary in intensity depending on the song. Some tracks are noticeably more grunge-forward, other more blues-heavy. Still others have discernible layers, reading almost like chapters of a riveting novel in true progressive rock fashion (Daisy Chain and Fata Morgana are prime examples). You'll never be bored listening to Edge of the Sky; there's truly something here for fans of many styles of heavy music.
Perhaps frontman Jason Busiek explains it best:
"We ride the line between stoner-psy and prog-rock. WE like the elements and progressions that come from both. The album takes on subjects in everyday life, from feeling unlucky to missing so many dear friends as life passes by, and addresses the need to come together as people and spread love. We incorporated some recording techniques that the band had not used before to get a well-produced, psychedelic sound, to take people on a sonic journey and fill their heads with the visions we are building through the music. We hope everyone digs the production on this album. We think of this album as the gateway to a fresh new sound for Desert Suns going forward."
In a nutshell, if this ultra sophisticated yet deliciously heavy sound is what we can expect from Desert Suns, the sky is truly the limit for the band, and I can't wait to see what the future has in store for this incredible group of musicians!
More About Desert Suns
Desert Suns Is:
AJ Belluto - Guitar
Lucas Fisher - Guitar
Gabe Fonseca - Bass
Ben McDowell - Drums
Jason Busiek - Vocals
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