Suburban Living certainly has come a long way from the band’s roots as a one-man bedroom project. The now fully-fledged group have returned with a brand new single, “Passing Days” a track that hints at the cloudy new heights of Suburban Living’s sound.
The band’s origins lie with Virginia native, Wesley Bunch, who began honing Suburban Living’s brand of shoegaze-inflected dreampop as a solo project in 2011. After moving to Philadelphia, Bunch would expand the project, rounding out Suburban Living’s ranks with drummer Michael Cammarata, bassist Pete Pantina, and guitarist Christopher Radwanksi. This solidified lineup would continue to regularly tour and release music, growing their sound, and eventually attracting the attention of 6131 Records (Julien Baker, Culture Abuse) who would put out the band’s most accomplished work, 2016’s 'Almost Paradise.'
For 'Almost Paradise,' Suburban Living partnered with engineer Jeff Zeigler (Kurt Vile, War on Drugs, Nothing), who cemented himself as a key element of the band’s studio sound. The album’s rolling synths and reverb-touched guitars would open new doors for the band and find them touring extensively—including a full U.S. with dreamy kindred spirit, Frankie Rose. Now with “Passing Days” Suburban Living have begun to dial their music further in the direction of the UK post-punk and new wave sounds of the 1980s. Again working with Zeigler, the track finds each member of Suburban Living completely confident in their roles, creating a densely cohesive sound from chiming guitars and a careening synth lead. If “Passing Days” is an indication of the music to come from the band, Suburban Living’s days have been well spent.
Line Up
Some things just take time. Nothing could be truer for Philadelphia's Suburban Living, a project originally envisioned in 2011 as a solo endeavor of Virginia native Wesley Bunch. Yet, after 5 years and a move to Philadelphia, Bunch found Suburban Living to be much more than solely his own, joining forces with seasoned musicians Michael Cammarata, Peter Pantina, and Chris Radwanski in his newfound home. The resulting collaborative relationship amongst these four refreshed the project and expanded upon the already impressive groundwork laid by Bunch.
In early 2015, on the heels of touring throughout the U.S. and Japan, Suburban Living began writing what would become the band's sophomore full length, "Almost Paradise." During this time, a chance meeting with Philadelphia-based engineer Jeff Zeigler (The War on Drugs, Kurt Vile, Nothing) led to Zeigler offering to work with the band on their next recording. "Working with Jeff was pretty amazing. I’d never worked with an engineer that knew exactly how I wanted something to sound without me having to express it." explains Bunch. The support of Zeigler, as well as his bandmates, equipped Bunch to spearhead undeniably the best Suburban Living material to date.
