The brilliant, emotive “Start Anew” is the stunning debut release from Sunday Face. The track reflects on a tumultuous 2019 from frontwoman Leah Gutman, who shows a haunting vocal delivery that reminds tonally of a cross between The Antlers’ Peter Silberman and Japanese Breakfast’s Michelle Zauner. The striking vocals are accompanied by distant piano and creaking acoustics initially, rising with the “each day,” impact at 00:49. From here, the track grips and never lets go. The “start anew,” vocal turn thereafter is aided by a swelling of textural beauty, with folk and orchestral elements creeping in. “I’ll be better next year,” Gutman says as the track comes to a close, crafting a spine-tingling sound and message that anyone seeking brighter times in the new year can relate to.
Sunday Face was founded in 2015 by Gutman in Framingham, MA. Joined in 2018 by good friends Dylan Walsh, Bram Pulliam, and Zack Stetson, Sunday Face are now a band with an upcoming EP, also entitled Start Anew, out in the next month or so.
“Start Anew” was co-written, co-produced and mixed by Gutman’s good friend, Cassie Plunkett (Plunki). The track was mastered by another good friend, Joseph Begalla (Galla). “Start Anew” transformed from a school project for Plunkett into a collaboration project between the two friends. The song’s message also finds a connection with Gutman’s Russian background; in Russian culture, New Years is celebrated similarly to Christmas in the United States, where “hope, tenderness, nostalgia, and comfort,” are wished upon in the new year.
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“Start Anew” and other memorable tracks from this month can also be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Best of January 2020’ Spotify playlist.
The track is also featured in the genre-based, best-of Spotify compilation Indie Folk.
