Setting Sun Share 'Overjoyed' (Live On The Hudson River) From First LP in 10 Years

Today, the Hudson Valley, NY based indie rock-folk band Setting Sun shares a live version of "Overjoyed," recorded on the Hudson River on June 15, 2023, out everywhere now. The track is pulled from the band's new, self-produced, first album in ten years, The Feelings Cure, out everywhere now via Young Love Records.

The long-awaited album meets the band where they are today. Through driving upbeat rhythms and introspective, optimistic lyrics, the group looks back at what made them who they are today and discovers more of who they would like to be in the future. Plus, join Setting Sun live on July 16 in Saugerties, NY at Opus 40. Tickets are on sale now via settingsuntheband.com.

The live version of "Overjoyed," recorded in the band's scenic home base on the Hudson River in June, allows Setting Sun to make space for the positivity that comes with change. It earnestly celebrates the beauty of evolving and reinventing one's self over time. Lead singer Gary Levitt shares, "Imagine someone saying something to you life changing, that totally lifts you up. ‘Overjoyed’ is a celebration of feelings changing for the positive, because that change is the beauty of evolution and reinvention." Now, with his first album in ten years–and sixth overall–out in the world, Levitt reflects, "As I age, I’m grateful for these changes because it is what keeps things fresh!"

Led by frontman and primary songwriter Gary Levitt, the sixth studio album by Setting Sun, The Feelings Cure, was recorded like no other Setting Sun record––diligently. Explaining the creative process and creating the album while now being a father, Levitt says, "I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to get in the creative zone with set times of having to turn creativity on and off like a switch. I used to write and record in creative blasts when I felt it come on like a wave or virus. Having kids forced me to write, record, and mix within the gaps of being a father. The maturity shows on this record."

Over ten rich tracks, Levitt turns inward to blend genres and juxtapose upbeat instrumentals and production with melancholic lyrics. Unafraid to take risks and allowing himself to create without reserve, the album chronicles Levitt further discovering himself and his artistry, culminating in the band's most realized work to date.

While producing the album, Levitt learned to listen to himself and how he was feeling to best use his time and play to his strengths. "I produced this record myself in my studio and enlisted friends to lay down some tracks like drums, harmonies, violins, etc. One trick I learned is to be aware of my mood. If I wasn’t feeling a creative wave, I’d then do some mixing. If I was in the creative zone, I’d sit and write and record a part to one of the songs." The creative process became casual, free-flowing and unforced. Levitt says, "Most of the sounds you hear on this record were written and recorded simultaneously, so you’re getting the raw thing, not a reenactment of the moment it was written, this is the moment."

With the newest, most comprehensive body of work yet out today, Setting Sun is ready to re-introduce themselves. In the band's current iteration, alongside Levitt are long-time collaborators Lawrence Roper (keyboards, vocals) and Jonathan Hambright (drums) and John Burdick (bass/vocals). Plus, delivering backup vocals throughout the project is the sweet and sensuous voice of Abby Hollander-Levitt, the bassist/singer from Abby Hollander Band. 

The release of the full project follows the previously shared lyric video for "Can't Send It Back," the reflective "Same Face," along with its pensive music video, the bright, acoustic track "Cool" and its accompanying lyric video and the first taste of the project, "Feelings Cure," a track that aims to resist feelings of pain and sadness through music. On album release day, the band also shared a lyric video for "Good Die Young.

Setting Sun, guided by Gary Levitt, began in San Francisco where the band's first release, holed up, was recorded in 2003. From there, Levitt moved to Los Angeles, then to Brooklyn, NY and now resides in the Hudson Valley of New York.

After holed up came Math And Magic the following year and caught the attention of Pittsburgh City Paper who wrote "Isolation" from the album, "brought together the dramatic delivery with a set of lyrics spilling out with a poetic skill rarely heard in any style of music." Four years later, Children of the Wild arrived, and PopMatters wrote the band's third album is characterized by "delicate, hushed vocals and well-crafted pop songs." In 2010, Setting Sun released Fantasurreal, and three years later came Be Here When You Get Here in 2013.

"Overjoyed" (Live on the Hudson River June 15, 2023) is out everywhere now. The Feelings Cure, the sixth studio album by Setting Sun is also out everywhere now via Young Love Records. Join Setting Sun in Saugerties, NY on July 16. Tickets are on sale now here. CDs are available for purchase here, and connect with Setting Sun on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube to stay up-to-date for more from the rising band.

Photo credit: JT Anderson

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