Native Sun release psych-y single & music video, sell out socially distanced rooftop Sultan Room return
You didn’t read the title of this post wrong: Brooklyn’s Native Sun are back, not just with a new single, but in the actual flesh. Earlier today, everyone’s favorite Brooklyn noisemakers dropped “Jesus,” a 6-minute ripper that’s indebted to gonzo 60s psych, modern stoner rock, and the razor sharp garage punk of much of their back catalog. Seriously, the thing is heavy and somehow sounds like the MC5 covering Sleep with a metaphysics thesis in the lyric sheet. Or as FLOOD put it in their premiere post this morning, “Ty Segall’s noisiest period fit with the lyrics of David Bazan.” Both are correct.
The track is the first from a double A-side single – the next song will be revealed in due time, people – and comes paired with a music video shot and directed in upstate New York by the multi-talented Alec Castillo of The Nude Party. Everything we said about the way the track sounds: yeah, that’s how the video looks too.
And as exciting as all of that is, we’re just as thrilled about the live music part. That’s right, Native Sun are playing music in public on the roof of The Sultan Room next week, April 21st. Socially distanced. Limited capacity. But still! A live show! It sold out almost immediately, but the lucky few are in for a treat. A statement from our friends at The Sultan Room below.
“We are thrilled to welcome you back this spring! The Turk’s Inn and The Sultan Room will once again reopen their doors April, 2021. To celebrate, we are offering a series of open-air concerts on The Turk’s Inn rooftop. Observing health and safety standards, these shows will be seated, socially distant, and require face-coverings. To start this off, we are thrilled to feature two Brooklyn favorites, Native Sun and Jachary! Each evening will feature 2 shows a night by each artist, at a reduced capacity of 42 tickets per show on our beautifully styled rooftop, to bring the joy and spirit of music and community back to our beloved neighborhood.
A year of living in pandemic times has taught us how much we miss being together and also made us aware of practices that enhance our safety. We’re embracing our responsibility of bringing people back together around musical experiences and applying the lessons we’ve learned on minimizing risks. We’ve all earned it and we all need it.”
As you might recall from those long-ago before-COVID times of 2020, the band was touring the west coast with White Reaper, on their way to SXSW, and had just celebrated their first few releases with us, selling out back-to-back shows in New York. We couldn’t be more excited to pick up where we left off. But the boys stayed busy in quarantine, releasing a covers EP benefitting The Okra Project, Border Angels, RAINN, Bushwick Ayuda Mutua, and the National Queer and Trans Therapists of Color Network. They were also tapped to be involved in the photo and poster fundraising effort “Bring Music Home” to benefit the National Independent Venue Association, which you may have spotted in Variety and Pitchfork. And, last but not least, the band will be featured in the upcoming documentary film Brooklyn is Burning, showcasing the Brooklyn music scene at its peak pre-COVID, how artists are coping during this time of crisis, and how the scene will be impacted in the aftermath.