Trash Sun is the moniker of August Darula, working as a side project off their band 7/11 Jesus. Since starting the project in 2019, Darula has released a whopping six albums, an enviable work ethic for any solo musician. This may be due in part to Darula’s desire to self-record and self-produce albums, with a stockpile of songs dating back to 2015. The project is ultimately designed to be an experimental self-introduction into the world of production, a fun experience, and one that we delightfully get to partake in. Darula has called Trash Sun “guitar music,” but the six albums released all have their own individual identities. They contain a much wider influence of genres, crossing seamlessly through punk, shoegaze and dream-pop. The most recent, Besides, was released in February and showcases a new angle from previous works.

Besides is Trash Sun’s most ambitious release to date, but that’s not to discredit their older albums. The album is an ‘extension’ of the past works, which have been much more guitar-focused releases. Darula’s previous album, 2020’s Fried, plants its feet firmly in the camp of noise rock and garage punk, while past albums like Dust and Nowhere Is Everywhere have exhibited patient rock with bedroom-pop styles. As Darula accurately comments, each album is part of a wide spectrum of influence without abandoning its roots. Indeed, the albums all feel like pieces of a complete whole – each release is a small foray into a different avenue of noise rock, and makes the others feel more complementary to each other. Every one is worth a listen to see how Darula’s interests intersect and influence the other Trash Sun releases.

Trash Sun’s album Dust

Darula’s newest release is the biggest outlier in a rapidly increasing discography, but it shares the two simple things that unite all Trash Sun albums – distorted guitar and vocals. There is more of a focus on the production – improved from the early laptop days. The tracks are thinner, and the inclusion of piano and strings in some songs have provided a fuller sound. However, the fuzzy guitar licks and the vocals layered under distortion are as prominent as ever. Any attempts at lyric discernment are futile here. The end result is closer to dream-pop than anything else, which Darula hopes has a calming effect during these troubling times. And it succeeds! The opener “White Widow” sets an immediate hazy tone, even more muzzled than before. Late-album standout “Web” is particularly mesmerizing in a way that’s both relaxing and hypnotizing. Besides is actually a play on b-sides, as the album is more of a collection of loose threads rather than a straight focused idea, but the flow of it will deceive you into thinking it’s a proper narrative. The album ultimately fits in with previous releases, with a few tweaks and additions that chip away at the more chaotic tendencies to produce something similar but muted.

The natural progression of Trash Sun’s albums is something to behold. It feels like the way an indie band would evolve their sound over the course of a decade, but accomplished by a solo act and dashed across only three years. Besides is an important piece in Trash Sun’s music as it introduces new experimental elements and elevates the minor aspects of past albums without losing any focus of what the core of the project is. While the album was recorded early enough that it can’t be entirely reflective of the pandemic, these times have allowed Darula to increase an already hectic recording schedule; a new Trash Sun album should be on the way in the late summer. Truly, no rest for the weary. Besides can be streamed below, and all of the Trash Sun albums are available on Bandcamp.