Sunnsetter

Photo by Andrew McLeod

As a multi-instrumentalist, composer, and mixing engineer, Andrew McLeod has been releasing music since 2014 under the name Sunnsetter. Based in rural Norfolk County, Ontario, they’ve always been a DIY artist, single handedly fusing together every element of their music. And while the creation is entirely them, the music itself draws from various genres; ambient, singer-songwriter, shoegaze, post-rock, slowcore and moves nimbly between them. McLeod wants each song to be distinct. “One of my biggest fears as an artist is to make an album of songs that sound exactly the same.” 

With, The best that I can be., McLeod melds a sound that’s all their own. It’s their debut album on Paper Bag Records and follows 2020’s independently released, The Love you withhold is the pain you carry. Citing influences such as My Bloody Valentine, Sigur Ros, Mount Eerie and KC Accidental, The best that I can be. was written over the course of three years - some of the most complicated but rewarding personally for McLeod. Not only did they grieve the loss of a close friend and bandmate, but they were dealing with sobriety, their mental health, and concepts around gender identity and queerness. More chaos courtesy of a pandemic added to the mix, but McLeod came out the other side having learned how to love and be loved by the people around them. “Going on five years sober, this experience has been one that has shaped me like no other has,” they say.  

The first single, ‘Float in Circles’ both sonically and thematically represents much of McLeod’s experience: experimentation and overwhelming feelings of grief and guilt over the loss of their friend. “None of it really made any sense until I wrote this track and realized this record and everything that’s happened in my life since their passing needed to be in tribute to them,” says McLeod. It’s melodic and hazy, and brimming with vulnerability. McLeod’s background as a score composer clearly underpins much of their work, yet they freely design their songs with an equal measure of creative abandon and melodic intention.  

Everything on the album was written, played, recorded (in their home studio) and mixed by McLeod, with the exception of ‘Surely Everything’s Alright’ where McLeod is joined by the voice of Jules Noel of Guard Petal. “This is simply the best that I can be, through song, and the need to share that feeling with the world is extremely overwhelming,” says McLeod 

Outside of Sunnsetter, McLeod is a contributor to two-time Polaris nominated and shortlisted ZOON, headed by Daniel Monkman, and OMBIIGIZI, a collaboration between Monkman and Adam Sturgeon of Status/Non-Status.  

Reflecting on their lost friend who is always top of mind, as much as their hard-fought years of progress that co-created The best that I can be. in equal measure, McLeod can feel some resolve and finally, peace. “I needed to recognize for myself that I can find a way to live beyond that grief and self-inflicted guilt,” surmises McLeod. “Find ways to hold myself accountable, change what I could for the better of myself and the people I love. This is what they would have encouraged me to do.” 

Press (CAN)

Freshly Pressed PR
Julie Booth
julie@freshlypressedpr.com