Where ’80s nostalgia meets California cool.
Sunset Lines’ debut album, The Longest Day in June, is a shimmering indie-pop manifesto that captures the euphoria and turbulence of personal transformation.
Led by vocalist and songwriter Liz Brooks, the Santa Cruz quartet crafts a sound that blends jagged post-punk guitars with lush ’80s synth textures, resulting in a record that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly modern.
Brooks describes the album as a “catalog of rediscovery,” a reflection of her departure from a stifling corporate career and her relocation to Santa Cruz, where creative liberation took root.
This duality is palpable across the album’s 10 tracks, which oscillate between introspective melancholy and sun-soaked exuberance.
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Opener “Sailboat Balloon” sets the tone with ethereal synths and Brooks’ hauntingly tender vocals, a tribute to her late father that also yields the album’s poignant title.
The band’s San Francisco roots bleed into their sound as Brooks’ layered lyricism and McCorkle’s production (reminiscent of The Smiths or Alvvays) create a coastal grit that’s equally at home in a dimly lit club or a beach bonfire.
Tracks like “Warm Places” and “Gasoline and Flowers” evoke wanderlust, with multilingual hooks and shimmering guitar lines that feel like postcards from far-flung escapes.
The Longest Day in June is a triumph of meticulous craftsmanship, from Sean Paulson’s polished mixes to Jeff Lipton’s mastering.
It’s an album about endings and beginnings, where every sunset promises a new dawn.
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