3 out of 5

Produced by: James van Leuven

Label: Sailor’s Rest Records (digital)

A bizarre, fascinating, but occasionally half-baked debut EP from ex-764-Hero, ex-Magic Magicians, ex-The Can’t See John Atkins and wandering beatmaker James van Leuven, Sun Breaks posits an exciting mash-up of John’s off-kilter harmonies and van Leuven’s electro prowess, but bears some hallmarks of just playing around.

Opener Side of the Road kicks off with a familiar 764-Hero-style cadence, but then is wrapped in skittering beats and propped up on looping, layered vocals, as assisted by Jenn Ghetto.  John’s mystified, observational narratives take a back seat to presentation, but the track is so stuff with interesting sounds and beats – a great mash-up of organic and electronic instrumentation – that it’s pretty grabbing nonetheless.  But the potential for all of this to come together feels fully realized on followup Large Houses, which funnels its mixed media sensibilities into the song’s themes.  The remaining three tracks on the disc are successful to a certain extent, but never quite get back to that feeling of cohesion, passing the baton back and forth between drum loops and John’s jangly rhythms, kinda hitting full indulgence (for better or worse) on sing-songy closer Islands and Bridges.

Definitely worth a listen, but also definitely conceptually more solidified on their three-years-later full debut.