On their new album, Sonny & The Sunsets joined up with producer Merrill Garbus (tUnE-yArDs) for their forthcoming release Moods Baby Moods, due for release on May 27th via Polyvinyl Records. Today, the band has shared the politically charged new single “White Cops on Trial” Sonny Smith described what inspired him to write the song:

“We’ve all been watching acquittal after acquittal of police officers for the killings of black and brown people. Here in SF the Frisco 5 are on hunger strike outside SFPD (Mission station), calling for resignation of the SF police Chief Suhr over the police assasinations of Alex Nieto, Mario Woods, Amilcar Perez-Lopez and Louis Gongora. There’s been a lot of positive resistance to the powers that be in this city, and our old racist system, so this song just came out of taking interest in what’s happening now.”

On previous records, the Sunsets have plundered a wide spectrum of musical appropriation (garage-rock, forgotten AM radio fodder, Modern Lovers, late-era Clash, Doo-Wop, and the Velvet Underground, to name a few.) Mood Baby Moods follows suit, and on this outing we find the Sunsets, along with producer Merrill Garbus of tUnE-yArDs, repurposing early ’80s funk and new wave with rap beats and collages from both sides of the ocean (be it Niles Rogers, Jah Wobble, The Gap Band, Orange Juice, Trans-era Neil Young or The Tom Tom Club.) These are songs that juxtapose the haze of today with a vibrant and colorful explosion of sounds and 180 degree turns.

Sonny and The Sunsets
Moods Baby Moods
(Polyvinyl)
May 27, 2016
Pre-order here

Track list:
1. Death Cream part 2 “Watch Out for the Cream”
2. Moods
3. Modern Age
4. Well But Strangely Hung Man
5. Nightmares
6. Reject of the Lowest Planet
7. White Cops on Trial
8. Check Out
9. Needs
10. My Little Death
11. Dead Meat on the Beach
12. The Hospital Grounds at Night

TOUR DATES

06/04 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel
06/15 – Vancouver, BC – Psych Night @ Baltimore Cabaret
06/16 – Seattle, WA – Tractor Tavern
06/17 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios
06/18 – Eugene, OR – Hi Fi Music Hall
06/19 – Guerneville, CA – Deathstock
06/23 – Los Angeles, CA – The Echo
06/24 – San Diego, CA – Soda Bar
06/25 – Visalia, CA – Cellar Door
07/07 – Chicago, IL – Empty Bottle
07/08 – Cincinnati, OH – MOTR
07/09 – Cleveland, OH – Happy Dog
07/12 – Somerville, MA – ONCE Ballroom
07/13 – New Haven, CT – BAR
07/14 – Philadelphia, PA – Kung Fu Necktie
07/15 – Brooklyn, NY – Baby’s All Right
07/16 – Charlottesville, VA – The Southern
07/17 – Carolina Beach, NC – Ocean Grill and Tiki Bar
07/19 – Knoxville, TN – Pilot Light
07/20 – Louisville, KY – Zanzibar
07/21 – Indianapolis, IN – The Hi Fi
07/22 – Grand Rapids, MI – The Tip Top
07/23 – Ferndale, MI – The Magic Bag
07/24 – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups