Sundowner

Four One Five Two

[3.5/5] Chris McCaughan is normally known for being the smooth, frail vocal counterpart to Brendan Kelly’s gravelly groans in the Lawrence Arms. However, on Four One Five Two, McCaughan proves he’s fully capable on his own as Sundowner, armed with an acerbic, literary-infused wit and a surprisingly versatile number of ideas and moods. Subtle keys and the soothing background croon of Sanawon vocalist Jenny Choi treat the sweeping “This War Is Noise.” Choi also appears on "Your Self Portrait," tugging on heart strings with her cello, adding another dramatic flair to Sundowner’s minimalist settings. The speedy jangle of "The Sea Of Lights" must have been an early idea for TLA’s Oh! Calcutta!, while McCaughan employs an unusually heady, low southern tone on "Midsummer Classic." Two TLA tracks make the album: McCaughan’s refreshing rendition of "My Boatless Booze Cruise" (originally sung by Kelly) and the self-loathing, gut-wrenching "One Hundred Resolutions," which McCaughan nails. An awful lot of modern melodic punk frontmen are venturing out on their own these days (see Tim Barry, Chuck Ragan), but McCaughan’s party-crashing is pleasing as spiked punch. (RED SCARE) Brian Shultz

ROCKS LIKE:

The Lawrence Arms’ Cocktails And Dreams

Mike Park’s For The Love Of Music

Jets To Brazil’s Orange Rhyming Dictionary

IN-STORE SESSION with CHRIS McCAUGHAN

Why the Sundowner moniker over regular ol’ Chris McCaughan?

I didn’t want to [label it a complete solo project]. I wanted to have a leniency [as far as] a band name went because ultimately other people were a part of this record.

When did you realize there was a disconnect between what you were writing and what seemed to fit the Lawrence Arms?

When we started making Oh! Calcutta!, there were all these songs I had [that] didn’t seem to fit into the ideas we had for the record we were making. I started slowly gathering all this material, [then eventually found] myself going out and playing some shows just by myself with an acoustic guitar.

Do you think you could translate some of your really elaborate, emotional songs in the Lawrence Arms, like "The Raw And Searing Flesh" or "The Revisionist,” to this acoustic format?
That would be a challenge with those songs because I think they rely so much on drums and bass and stuff. I think it’d be something… [Laughs.] I’d have to work it out a lot. It’d be really hard. Those are really the types of songs that rely on drama a little more.

How did you decide you wanted Jenny Choi to contribute?

It seemed like I needed someone to play on it [with me] to make it a little more of a listenable record… So I saw Jenny out one night and asked her if she wanted to play some cello on it; she ended up writing a lot more for it [than originally intended]. Neil [Hennessy] from the Lawrence Arms engineered the record and played on it, too.

Who would you like to tour with in support of the record?

Well, you know, the Lawrence Arms did a couple dates with Chuck Ragan-I’d love to play some shows with him. I’ve heard some rumors of Joey Cape taking Bad Astronaut out [on the road]; there are a lot of [options], really.

Do you think Sundowner will become a full-fledged entity outside of the Lawrence Arms?

I hope so… [With] the Lawrence Arms, our future is a little undetermined; I’m kinda trying to figure out what’s going on [with that band]. If there’s a really cool response to this, that would [probably lead] to another record; [I’d consider getting] out there on my own. -Brian Shultz