Sianspheric: The Sound of the Color of the Sun

Even with the volume turned up, Sianspheric is quiet. Wrapped in hushed emotions, The Sound of the Color of the Sun whispers and murmurs lightly throughout this selection of songs that subtly build upon each other to create a unified sense of atmosphere. Sianspheric is all about setting the right mood, and every sound that the band makes contributes to this overall effect. From its downhearted sensibilities that never quite abandon hope, The Sound of the Color of the Sun is remarkable in how it manages to take sadness and turn it into something of great beauty.

In its subtle approach, Sianspheric is almost deceptive in what it does. With a swirling melancholy of fuzzed-out guitars and gentle percussion, the initial tone is a bit obvious, especially when combined with the scarce vocals that are off in the distance. Still, The Sound of the Color of the Sun possesses a mysterious dreamlike quality to it, and Sianspheric uses this to its advantage. Letting each song compliment the next, it becomes hard to differentiate where one ends and the next begins. Instead, this album is all about the experience of the entire whole. The Sound of the Color of the Sun has enough surprises to keep it from collapsing while not detracting from the feel. When a cover of The Smiths’ “Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want” is introduced almost imperceptibly at the end of “Radiodiffusion”, you know you are listening to a band that knows exactly what it is doing.

Still, for everything Sianspheric does right, there is something missing from this album. While these subdued songs explore more reflective emotions, there is little attempt to draw listeners in. You’ll either choose to relate to the music Sianspheric is making or the band won’t do anything for you at all. As reassuring and gentle as its music is, the thinness of the compositions and sparse instrumentation doesn’t exactly make these songs catchy or memorable. It is definitely more of an experience than an album to just sit and enjoy, and this may sometimes try the patience of even those who enjoy The Sound of the Color of the Sun. Sianspheric forces listeners to put in effort to unlock the secrets of its music, and some just won’t want to bother.

Although the meditative pacing of The Sound of the Color of the Sun moves the album along slowly, Sianspheric does know enough not to wear out its welcome and the tracks never feel too long. Each song has a good transition into the next, and while the songs don’t hold up too well when pulled from the context, tracks like the haunting “Tous Les Soirs” and the hypnotic “Everything’s a Wave” serve as two good high points of the album as a whole. But mostly, all the songs fit so well together that even taken out of order, The Sound of the Color of the Sun still works.

Even though Sianspheric puts some demands on its listeners, the effort is worth it. The dreamy contemplation of The Sound of the Color of the Sun may not appeal to everyone in its intricacy, but for those who have the patience, this album will fit into their lives perfectly.