The Sunny Era

So, you need to know upfront, I am all about presentation. You don’t get very far with me if you don’t present well; I am just a bit shallow that way. So Minneapolis-based The Sunny Era caught my eye with their new CD, This Darkness of Love – its fetching Little Red Riding Hood big-eyed girl, her hand touching the ear of a mysterious big black wolf. The image, a cross between animé and sixties’ puppy dog-eyed paintings, is titled with Gothic lettering and sweet animation on their website. So, now you got my attention, but can you back up your sweet package with sweet music? Turns out, you can.

The troika (see how worldly they are?) of The Sunny Era creates an airy, yet lush tonality with their fusion of guitars, accordion, violin, clarinet, and percussion. Their self-proclaimed “kaleidoscopic” sound strives to “bring you from modern day rock to old world gypsy street music”, and their melancholy instrumentation and arrangements do just that. As classically trained musicians, they have found new exhilaration in performing original music with ethnic melodic strains. Inspired both by independent rock and traditional Eastern world music, The Sunny Era is a bit reminiscent of stronger vocal/melodic ensembles DeVotchKa (Little Miss Sunshine soundtrack) and Swell Season (Once inspiration and soundtrack). Definitely worth a good listen, and with the potential to be very interesting live, The Sunny Era presents, but more importantly, they back up a beautiful package with a worthwhile endeavor.
- Metro Magazine (Juanita Hickerson)

The Sunny Era’s second CD, This Darkness of Love, contains echoes of gypsy jazz, Eastern European folk melodies, French street music, and several other musical forms – yet the songs themselves feel entirely original. According to drummer Rob Foehl, this local band’s goal is to create music that’s “aurally and intellectually interesting” but still rocks a bit. The Sunny Era’s sound resists easy categorization, but when pushed, the band calls its aural adventures “independent rock world fusion.” - Minneapolis Saint Paul Magazine (Tad Simons)

It’s a great thing, they love their music and they love to play. - Gannett Company, Inc. (Corbin Seitz)

The Sunny Era have the kind of instant appeal that gets people to walk up to the counter and ask what’s playing when their stuff is in the store disc changer, kind of like that scene in “High Fidelity” with the Beta Band. - The Pulse of the Twin Cities (Steve McPherson)

I would love to see these guys live! - Minneapolis Cast

The three-piece band who hail from Twin Cities use just about every instrument known to man over their album. Let The Sunny Era take you on a journey, you definitely won’t be disappointed.
- Buzz Magazine (Dave Griffiths)