Native Sun cement their place in the alternative rock skyline on ‘Concrete Language’
New York’s Native Sun have been causing a ruckus for some time, building a notorious reputation for wild live sets and a dynamic sound that fuses uncompromising fury with textual nuance. With the long awaited release of their debut full-length LP, Concrete Language, Native Sun have proven themselves worthy of cementing their hard earned place at the forefront of modern alternative rock.
Native Sun’s stage presence is a tumultuous explosion of unfiltered adrenaline that draws from the raw unpredictability of early 1970s Detroit proto-punk pioneers MC5 and The Stooges, tempered with the impeccably unique aura of cool that has permeated New York’s rock n roll identity since The Velvet Underground first seeped their way out of the East Village. Native Sun managed to capture that live lightning in a bottle, imbuing the grooves of Concrete Language with the seismic impact of their sets, pressing into the wax itself a definitive snapshot of a band that demands to be experienced, either live or on record. But there’s more to the record than just wild-eyed tempestuousness. Native Sun takes the opportunity to widen the scope of their sonic ambition, layering in fresh sounds and influences into a muscular manifesto of sheer attitude and clear-eyed intent.
Concrete has enabled the construction of this world’s greatest wonders - from the arches and domes of Ancient Rome to the towering spires that dominate New York’s iconic skyline. It is an engineered material, created through the alchemical combination of natural materials and human ingenuity, manipulating the very elements to render dreams and ambition in physical form. Native Sun takes a similar approach on Concrete Language, treating words and music as building blocks from which they craft their own vision, referencing the malleability of engineered stone as the foundation for cultural permanence.
Concrete Language opens with “Down My Line,” a mechanical explosion of aggressive punk attitude that bears the band’s DNA in totality. Massive rhythms pound with percussive insistence and a streetwise strut, torn asunder by shark-toothed riffs and punctuated with feral howls that telegraph a perilous element of wild volatility. Native Sun takes a similar stance on “This Mess,” flashing like brass knuckles brandished in the chaos of a back alley brawl as antagonists tumble through metal trashcans toward collective annihilation. “Adam” references Lou Reed’s unparalleled posturing, and “Squash” jitters with infectious angularity and an adventurous cadence that carries within it the restless ambition of The City itself. “No” cumulates from understated beginnings into a riotous scream from New York, NY that boogies harder than a CBGB bender hellbent for hedonism.
Expanding beyond the black eyes and split lips of Big Apple territorial tussles, Native Sun cast their gaze across the pond to inject Concrete Language with a healthy dose of Britpop’s devil-may-care swagger and kaleidoscopic psychedelia. Lead single “I Need Nothing” stands emblematic of the band’s embrace of 1990s UK sensibilities, resplendent in a technicolor dreamcoat of the finest Madchester design. “Go Out And Play” packs more than a little of the Gallagher Brothers’ unchecked bravado into a soaring stadium-ready anthem, while “In The Light” radiates with a jangly approachability and sunny disposition as it lounges parkside lightly stoned and contemplating the meaning of life’s grander purpose.
“Tizz” catches the listener on the back foot after the raucous opening track, tempering Native Sun’s penchant for raw combativeness with an invitation to take a ride deeper down the rabbit hole of the band’s well of influence. Elements of textural stateside indie work their way across the track list, most prominently manifesting on the energetic acoustic guitar shuffle and background handclaps of “Whose Kids” that build toward the chorus with a sinister sentiment of cheerful nihilism. Album closer “All I Can See” is a downbeat moment of inward reflection that unfolds like a Sunday morning comedown watching the streets below through panes of rain streaked glass, but offers a glimmer of sunshine through the blanket of clouds in the form of a soaring solo before slowly fading on a heavy but upwards trajectory towards inevitable salvation.
Through sheer force of will Concrete Language stands as a temple to the ever evolving nature and colossal presence of rock music itself, molded in the image of its architects as a modern wonder that will mark for the ages the dawning of Native Sun.
Concrete Language is available now via Todo Records. Follow Native Sun on Instagram.
Upcoming Shows
OCT 3 - Sonia Live Music Venue - Cambridge, MA - tickets
OCT 4 - Baby’s All Right - Brooklyn, NY - tickets
OCT 5 - The Foundry - Philadelphia, PA - tickets
OCT 6 - DC9 - Washington, DC - tickets
OCT 9 - Richmond Music Hall - Richmond, VA - tickets
OCT 10 - Motorco Music Hall - Durham, NC - tickets
OCT 11 - Radio Room - Greenville, SC - tickets
OCT 12 - The Social - Orlando, FL - tickets
OCT 13 - The EARL - Atlanta, GA - tickets
OCT 16 - Trokson - Lyon, France
OCT 17 - PULP CLUB - Bordeaux, France
OCT 18 - Zéro Degré Est - Les Roches-l'évêque, France
OCT 19 - THE OFF OFF OFF FESTIVAL 2025 - Troyes, France
OCT 20 - The George Tavern - London, United Kingdom - tickets
OCT 21 - Headrow House - Leeds, United Kingdom - tickets
OCT 23 - Leith Arches - Edinburgh, United Kingdom
OCT 24 - Big Hands - Manchester, United Kingdom
OCT 25 - Corporation - Sheffield, United Kingdom
OCT 26 - Purple Turtle - Reading, United Kingdom - tickets
OCT 28 - SUPERSONIC - Paris, France - tickets
OCT 29 - Kinett Kusel - Kusel, Germany
OCT 30 - Neue Welt - Ingolstadt, Germany
OCT 31 - Cafe Kairo - Bern, CH - Bern, Switzerland