Since releasing their self-produced "Pickled Hearts" EP in May 2015 and first studio EP, "Space, Place, and Time", in 2013, Philadelphia's The Naked Sun has evolved into a rousing power-folk outfit that has been celebrated for its playful and poignant brand of indie folk/rock. They may or may not have coined the phrase, but "honest rock" has unquestionably been their ethos since their start back in 2011. With songs that echo the rawness and sincerity of the cities around which its members grew up-Detroit, Baltimore, Philadelphia-the band blends the basics of roots rock and folk with layers of bolstering piano and organ, intricate pedal steel leads, and melodic choruses backed by satisfying vocal harmonies. The Naked Sun released their debut album, "War with Shadows", last Friday, 1/26 and to celebrate its release, the band is proud to unveil the video for the second single, "Do You Wanna Dance?".
Rooted in the songwriting of frontman and acoustic/electric rhythm guitarist Andrew Wesley Harris, all the band members - Philly indie scene veterans Tim Campbell (lead guitar, pedal steel, backing vocals) and Ken Letherer (bass); Dave Gladney (drums); Alan Sheltzer (acoustic piano, electric piano, organ); and Nerissa Jaucian (backing vocals), contribute to the band's amalgam of rock, pop and folk.
The video for "Do You Wanna Dance?" was filmed on location at Philly's famed
Kung Fu Necktie by prolific Philadelphia based videographer Bob Sweeney, and the band's fans. Andrew says, "Bob and I had this idea where we showed all that went in to a local music show: the fans getting ready for the show, the band getting ready, and that moment where fans and band share in a joyous moment of musical ecstasy. What a more perfect song to do this with! For this video we asked our fans coming out to the show to shoot cell phone footage of them getting ready, traveling to the show, arriving at the show, and filming us and themselves rocking out and dancing at the show. The video is a mixture of Bob's professional footage taken at the gig and in our rehearsal space and the cell phone footage taken by our fans. This was truly a celebration of the scene, the city, and the power of collaboration."
You can check out the video for "Do You Wanna Dance?"
here!
"War with Shadows", which was produced by Brian McTear (War on Drugs, Kurt Vile, matt pond PA, Sharon van Etten, Joan Osbourne, the Districts, among many others), and recorded in July of 2017 at Miner Street Recordings in Fishtown, PA, has "a heavy emphasis on lyrical content and themes of addiction, regret, redemption, love and loss", Andrew says.
The first single and video from the album is "Holdin' Back the Heart". "Holdin' is the very first song the band wrote together way back in 2010, when we were first starting out. We've closed almost every single one of our shows since our inception with this song. I knew it was special when I wrote it because it was one of those songs that just kind of came out of me. I wrote the chorus and music in what seemed to be 5 minutes, but was probably more like a half hour. This was a totally different style of music for me to write, and at the time a part of me didn't want to write it because it seemed so out of place. I quickly killed that voice and let it come out. Lyrically this song is about falling in love again, after losing in love so many times before. It's about vulnerability, letting one's guard down, and letting someone in to the most delicate space of your soul, your heart. I married the woman I am writing about in the song 5 years later."
You can stream "Holdin' Back the Heart"
here!
Check out the video
here!
With a true love for song, the band has a wide spectrum of influences and they set out to deliver melody and down to earth lyrics. "The writing process for me is a constant thing", Andrew says. "I write all of the time and tend to collect songs until it is time to record them."
In the words of "The Owl" magazine, "Restrained and subtle, but at the same time warm and genuine,
The Naked Sun stand out in amongst the crowds of rock bands by simply keeping it simple."
Website:
www.wearethenakedsun.com
Facebook:
www.facebook.com/fatalien215
Twitter: @thenakedsun1
Instagram: wearethenakedsun
Photo credit: Charles Wrzesniewski
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