The Sonic Dawn is a psychedelic rock band from Denmark, and is on the Heavy Psych Sounds label. I’ve been meaning to check out the group since I first listened to their lead singer’s solo album that was released earlier this year, The Black Spider / Det Kollektive Selvmord (2020) by Emile. Based on everything I’ve seen online, the band receives a lot of praise for their musical compositions, which seems to be in line with my experience the their lead singer’s solo album. One reviewer of an album of their’s even described an album by the group as “easily one of the best psychedelic pop albums of the decade”, which only makes me more excited to give this album a listen. With that said, I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music.
Holy smokes, “Young Love, Old Hate” starts out with some awesome guitar that immediately has a sort of psychedelic cowboy sound that I absolutely dig. Holy smokes, the tune keeps evolving with different flavors of bouncy and reverberated twang. Wow, this song is awesome. The flavor is super strange and interesting, as I feel like I’m simultaneously hearing flavors of The Beatles and the earlier Grateful Dead, both of which are two of my favorite artists of all time. Awesome track.
Holy smokes, “Hits of Acid” starts out with some gentle reversed instrumentation that sets the tone for the track. Holy smokes, the track has such a smooth groove for the verse, and intensifies in a super wholesome way for the chorus. Wow, I want to buy this album on vinyl already. Wow, great track.
“Loose Ends” gets grooving right away with a bit of a looser feel as the instruments have an almost wet reverberation to them, and I’m digging it. This album sounds pulled straight out of the 1960s, and could easily serve as the soundtrack for a movie about a first-hand account of the psychedelia of the 1960s. Wow, the chorus is super mellow and almost has a bit of a raga flavor to it. Oh wow, the soundscape has a super blissful sound from the organs as the raga flavors are enhanced with the introduction of the sitar in the track. Holy smokes, the organs almost seem to move about in a way that they’re nearly out of tune, yet still create such a serene sound that I’m only further hooked into the track. Great tune.
Holy smokes, “Children of the Night” gets grooving with some quick, nearly folksy acoustic guitar and some reversed instrumentation at the start of the track. Holy smokes, the drums rattle around that almost sounds like they’re getting the listener into a whirl of sorts. Oh wow, the track gets continually sweeter and more melodious with the organs, bass, and acoustic guitar all seemingly working in tandem to ease the tune forward. Holy smokes, the tune changes up to a second movement that has a bit of a gentle folksy feel that gradually is brought into a sort of cosmic territory. Oh wow, the track returns to the chorus with a super natural and sweet sound. Wow, great track.
“Shape Shifter” begins with some mellow, clean acoustic guitar work that has a very pleasant psychedelic style, as though the band is slowly carrying you on a river of sorts. Oh wow, the band sort of gently intensifies and mellows and a subtle ebb and flow of music. Holy smokes, the guitars have picked up some distortion and are now playing some super groovy riffs backed by a great beat. Holy smokes, the vocals sound as though they’re peering into the soundscape from a different dimension. Oh wow, the song has evolved so much from the start of the track. Wow, great tune.
Oh wow, “Enter the Mirage” begins with a sound that has a middle-eastern mystique to it with the easy-going guitar work. Oh wow, the tune drops into a rockin’ groove with a sort of world flavor with a mixture of raga and middle-eastern sounds. Holy smokes, this track has a super dynamic feel to it. Wow, great track.
Oh wow, “Soul Sacrifice” begins with some blissful guitar chords and a mysterious keyboard sound that almost sounds as though the band is beckoning you through some enchanted, psychedelic forest in your own mind. Holy smokes, the groove the band gets into is filled with super flavorful organ swirls and a classic 1960s psychedelic beat, while the bass and guitar seem have far-out flavors served with a timeless sound. Wow, great tune.
“Join the Dead” gets into a bit of a psychedelic funk groove that reminds me a bit of The Meters with the rhythm section. Holy smokes, the keyboard in this song is absolutely awesome. Oh wow, the vocals have a style about them that reminds me a lot of The Beatles. Oh wow, this instrumental movement with the acoustic guitar is awesome. Wow, great track.
Oh wow, “Sun Drifter” gets grooving with some flavorful staccato’d electric guitar chords that almost have a psychedelic garage rock flavor, while the acoustic guitar plays a super folksy line that seems to move about the fretboard. Oh wow, I really dig this track. It almost sounds like the band is starting to tie things together. I really dig the sound of what sounds to be a conglomeration of distant, echoey organs mixed with some electric guitar, which almost introduces a symphonic sound into the soundscape. Holy smokes, the drum fills in this track get to be super tasty. Oh wow, the band seems to land this track in a super mellow, psychedelic manner. Great tune.
“Ufo” begins in a super mellow manner with some gentle electric guitar while some keyboards seem to gently play some spacey sounds that are both serene and far-out from the background. Oh wow, the band gets grooving with into a super groovy psychedelic manner. Holy smokes the falsetto vocals in this one seem to continually lift the rest of the soundscape, as though the band is building up to a mellow, spacey, psychedelic crescendo of sorts, as though a UFO has lifted you into outer-space to show you the beauty of the universe. Wow, great track and a great way to end this album.
Holy smokes, this album is awesome. I already have it in my cart on HeavyPsychSounds.com, just waiting to hit purchase. If you’re a fan of psychedelic rock from any decade, though especially if you enjoy the flavors of the mid to late 1960s, this album is one you might want to consider listening to you. It sounds as though the band put in a tremendous amount of care, time, patience, and effort into making the album, which is reflected throughout the experience of the album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A