With their latest track ‘Rock and Roll’, the Utah-based trio offers a tongue-in-cheek love letter to the genre’s chaos, channelling swagger, soul, and a not-so-subtle middle finger to the safe and sanitised. Think Red Hot Chili Peppers in an existential spiral, or a grunge-era garage band raised on late-night therapy podcasts.
Where some acts lean too heavily on retro worship, The Sunmills sharpen their riffs into weapons. The guitars bite, the rhythm section slaps with precision, and the whole thing feels like it’s about to spiral out of control- in the best way possible. Frontman Jim Brown delivers vocals with a grin and a sneer, swerving between irony and sincerity so fast you barely see the lane change. It’s playful. It’s unhinged. It’s the sound of a band that knows exactly what they’re doing while pretending they don’t.
But what really makes ‘Rock and Roll’ pop isn’t just the punchy production or the strut-worthy hooks- it’s the self-awareness. The Sunmills revel in contradiction, writing music that’s both heartfelt and hilariously self-deprecating. You get the sense they’re laughing at themselves just as much as they’re baring their souls.
This isn’t rock music for the influencers or the algorithm- it’s for the weirdos who still believe in distortion pedals, group therapy via chorus lines, and yelling your feelings into the void. With their upcoming EP on the horizon, ‘Rock and Roll’ is the kind of track that plants a flag in the dirt and dares you to follow it into the fire.
The Sunmills don’t want to save rock- they just want to set it on fire, dance in the ashes, and maybe play a triangle solo while they’re at it.