aaamusic | On 10, Jan 2011

In 21st century terms, no one sounds remotely like TREEFIGHT FOR SUNLIGHT. Just one spin of debut single “What Became of You and I” will confirm their swooning, roller-coasting, deliriously jubilant sunshine pop that harks back to more innocent times. Now here comes their self-titled debut album which bottles their epic sunshine into ten pop symphonies in a compact 35 minutes – as God surely intended albums to last – and shows Bella Union are embracing the new year with the same eclectic enthusiasm as ever.

The band, who have known each other since childhood, hail from Denmark (capital Copenhagen to be precise), clearly a breeding ground for mavericks judging by the likes of Mew, The Raveonettes, Oh No Ono and Treefight’s fellow Bella Union voyagers The Kissaway Trail. Bands that unstitch rock/pop’s rich tapestry and weave in their own unique and challenging DNA. In Treefight For Sunlight’s case, it’s the legacy of California’s west coast pop art, from its origins in the epic harmonies of
The Association and The Turtles, which had a knock-on effect in the ‘70s with Sparks and the ‘80s with LA’s Paisley Underground scene. Fans of the Flaming Lips, MGMT and Panda Bear will surely also appreciate Treefight For Sunlight’s layered, twisting, caramelised energy and absorbing imagery.

Right from the start, when the two-minute overture ‘A Dream Before Sleep’ opens with the line, “All the nurses are going to leave me”, Treefight For Sunlight beguiles and thrills. TFS have three lead singers whose imaginations are given free reign, from the concise punch of ‘Facing The Sun’ and ‘You And The New World’ to the instrumental exotica of ‘Tambourhinoceros Jam’ to the more progressive ‘Riddles In Rhymes’ and the closing five-minute epic, ‘Time Stretcher’.

Let the sunshine in……………!