Line #11 Music/Sunbather


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sunbather.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:Why this colour scheme? [[spoiler:Close your eyes and face the sun.]]]]
3
4	-> ''It's 5 A.M...and my heart flourishes at each passing moment.''
5	-> ''Always and forever.''
6	-->-- '''[[TitleTrack "Sunbather"]]'''
7
8	''Sunbather'' is the second studio album by American [[BlackMetal Blackgaze]] band Music/{{Deafheaven}}, released on June 11, 2013. Recorded in five days, ''Sunbather'' marks the moment where Deafheaven fine-tuned their recent adoptions of {{Shoegazing}} and PostRock within their songwriting, first seen on their debut ''Roads to Judah''. This is reflected in both the sound and length of the album - the total runtime is over an hour long with just seven tracks. Lyrically, ''Sunbather'' is meant to be a ConceptAlbum regarding "the profound sadness found in the quest for one's personal perfection... serving as an artistic lucid dream of warmth despite the stinging pain of life's cruel idealism". Samples featured on this album, such as guitarist Kerry [=McCoy=] buying drugs, help compound this further.
9
10	Critically, ''Sunbather'' was a success by every definition of the word. At 92/100, Metacritic named it as the most critically acclaimed album of the year - the first metal record to ever do so. ''Sunbather'' is also credited with [[GenrePopularizer bringing blackgaze]] to the forefront ([[AudienceAlienatingPremise well]], [[MainstreamObscurity as much as it really could be]]). However, upon release, this album proved to be polarizing: black metal purists, without hesitation, denounced it as a mainstream-friendly monstrosity with influences that had no right to mix with each other. Others raved over it, and Deafheaven's popularity spiked to the point that they would play at festivals that were otherwise very minimal with their metal acts. In certain crowds, bringing up ''Sunbather'' could trigger major arguments. As the decade wore to a close, however, reception amongst those who rejected it began to improve, with its legacy and impact on metal in the 2010s being undeniable.
11	----
12	!!Tracklist:
13	# "Dream House" (9:15)
14	# "Irresistible" (3:13)
15	# "[[TitleTrack Sunbather]]" (10:17)
16	# "Please Remember" (6:26)
17	# "Vertigo" (14:37)
18	# "Windows" (4:43)
19	# "The Pecan Tree" (11:27)
20	----
21	!!Principal members:
22	* George Clarke – vocals, piano
23	* Kerry [=McCoy=] – guitars, bass guitar
24	* Daniel Tracy – drums
25	----
26	!!We presume our tropes is what must be:
27	* ArcSymbol: The lyrics repeatedly feature the motif of sunlight being obscured in some way (through sunglasses, curtains, and closed eyes, among other things). It's pretty clearly symbolic.
28	* BlackMetal: Regardless of whether genre purists like it or not.
29	* BreatherEpisode: The even-numbered tracks.
30	* CallingTheOldManOut: "The Pecan Tree".
31	* ConceptAlbum: [[MindScrew Apparently]].
32	* DesignStudentsOrgasm: Sure, even if it doesn't scream 'black metal album', there's a reason the cover's so memorable.
33	* DrugsAreBad: "Windows" samples [=McCoy=] buying drugs in order to contrast the real-life hell of addiction with the metaphysical hell the preacher earlier in the track is ranting about.
34	* EpicRocking: All the odd-numbered tracks.
35	* FadingIntoTheNextSong: "Sunbather"/"Please Remember".
36	* ForWantOfANail: The spoken-word passage in "Please Remember" discusses a man's unease at the idea that his romance is essentially a matter of chance.
37	* HarshVocals: Literally all of them, except for the spoken word bits.
38	* IndecipherableLyrics: As is the norm for black metal. At least Deafheaven, unlike a lot of other bands in the genre, print their lyrics.
39	* {{Instrumentals}}: "Irresistible", "Please Remember", "Windows" (although the latter two contain SpokenWordInMusic and/or {{Sampling}}).
40	* LighterAndSofter: Than most other black metal.
41	* MindScrew: ''Sunbather'' is described as a concept album. Even if you read the lyrics, you'll be stumped over what they really mean.
42	* MinimalisticCoverArt: The album name displayed in a 3x3 block formation against a pink-and-orange background.
43	* PostRock: "Windows" sounds so much like a Music/GodspeedYouBlackEmperor song it's surreal. Most of their instrumental pieces are pretty influenced by this genre, while the black metal songs are still influenced by it but not as much.
44	* PrecisionFStrike: There's a vaguely audible one in the drug dealing section of "Windows". One of the speakers also says "dicked around" once as well.
45	* PurpleProse: The lyrics mostly consist of this.
46	* {{Sampling}}[=/=]SpokenWordInMusic:
47	** "Please Remember" features a sample of Neige of Music/{{Alcest}} reading a passage from Creator/MilanKundera's novel ''Literature/TheUnbearableLightnessOfBeing''.
48	** "Windows" contains a sample of a street preacher ranting about hell and a sample of [=McCoy=], who was addicted to pharmaceutical opiates at the time ''Sunbather'' was recorded, buying drugs. Clarke commented, "Thematically, it's supposed to be about this guy talking about the evils of hell intermixed with one's own personal hell and the actual realities like addiction and self-worth, not the fire and brimstone. [[=McCoy=]] didn't have a lot of money, and he was kind of desperate; he's showcasing the true horrors that are here on earth--one's own personal demons."
49	* {{Screamo}}: Certainly an influence on ''Sunbather'', although possibly not as much as some people would like you to believe.
50	* {{Shoegaze}}: An influence on the band's layered guitar sound.
51	* SiameseTwinSongs: "Dream House"/"Irresistible".
52	* SpecialGuest: [[Music/{{Alcest}} Neige]] on "Please Remember".
53	* SubduedSection:
54	** "Dream House" has one before breaking out into a guitar lead.
55	** "Sunbather" has one near the beginning and one towards the end.
56	** "The Pecan Tree" has one in the middle of the track.
57	** The even-numbered tracks serve as this for the whole album (not counting the noise section in "Please Remember").

Context Music / Sunbather