SUNSHINE REIGNS Acelia Dulfin RARE downer garage psych
$
53
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Description
You’d think with a title like “Acelia Dulfin” and a band called Sunshine Reigns, this would be one of those happy little skip-along sunshine pop Bugaloo goodies with a Gary Zekley credit buried somewhere on the label. And you couldn’t be further from the truth. This little slice of teenage venom has seen less daylight than Ian Curtis and Peter Murphy combined, and the only reason the band publicizes Acelia’s full name in the song title is so all the generations of single men to follow know enough to stay away. In the pantheon of “downer rock,” this one extends into the eighth circle of Prozac Hell.
How else can you explain a bitter tale of revenge that starts out like this:
“This is the story of a friend I once had,
He was mixed up with this girl, and I knew she was bad.
So I gave him some advice about her, and I think you oughta listen to it too.
It might help you someday.”
Wow, she must be bad news. The mere fact that he talks about his friend in the past tense means that either this evil succubus came between these two guys and somehow ruined their friendship forever, or she killed him. At least now the proper authorities have her full name. I’m surprised they didn’t print her mailing address and phone number in the run-out groove.
Musically, this is a slow, smoldering jangle-fest of sad guitars – like something a younger, edgier Byrds might’ve written right after Roger McGuinn got dumped at the prom. There’s also some tinny, ear-piercing organ that quivers and buzzes in the background, while the bassline sounds like the Damned’s “Stranger on the Town” slowed down to funeral dirge speed. Fans of moody teen downer singles like the ones on I Can Hear Raindrops rate this Louisiana group’s 45 as one of the all-time greats, yet surprisingly no one’s comped it yet. Maybe Acelia’s lawyers are more powerful than we thought…
There’s another siren on the flipside, “Laura (Is the Girl).” But she gets off pretty easily compared to poor Miss Dulfin. Sounds like the Sunshine Reigns actually like this girl, although, in true Robert Smith fashion, even their loving tribute sounds like a gothic wake. Heavy on the quivering organ, with rough, world-weary harmonies, they’re trying to be wistful and dreamy, yet still make falling in love sound like the death of a pet. Man, no wonder Hot Topic’s always crowded.
So put on your black mascara, hide the cutlery and settle back for five minutes of pure teen angst from the not-so-swingin’ 60’s. An evil girl who ended a friendship and possibly a friend’s life on one side, the girl of your dreams on the other – and yet they both sound like an all-day rainstorm. You can trace every Cure concert in the history of music right back to this point.
MEGA RARE original local pressing on the mbm label. Vinyl looks clean, no scratches, plays VG+.
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