Sixty Miles Down – “Another Sunset”

Sixty Miles Down – “Another Sunset” – Single Review

This single here…has been some time in the makin’ y’all, lemme tell ya!

When you’re leading that glamorous life of a music critic, you often get tracks ahead of the rest of the masses.  I’ve had snapshots & previews of “Another Sunset” by Sixty Miles Down for quite a while now, and what I believe is the finished version of it for over a month.  If I’m not mistaken, the day is getting closer to when YOU can hear it too!  Word on the street is that this is now coming out on May 23^rd.

Touted as the first official song released with the new revitalized lineup of Sixty Miles Down, I feel like the collective talent on display here gives you Alt-Rock/Metal & Grunge fans great reasons to tune in.  The last time we checked in on the band, towards the end of last year, we heard a gripping-but-short single called “This Is Me (Feeling Cold)” that reminded us of the natural talent band-leader John Mosco has, on a track where he was doin’ things all on his own from what I recall – so to hear the full-band version of 60MD back in action with fresh blood in its veins provides a more accurate glimpse of the sound they’re going for.

You’ve got Lukas Gubanovas on guitar, Shawn Paladini on bass, Mike Catania on the drums, and of course you’ve still got John upfront on the microphone as well to bring this whole crew together.  I’d be wildly encouraged by what they achieved on “Another Sunset” if I were 60MD.  Look at it this way, if this is where the band has pushed reset, this single speaks volumes of the strengths they’re launching with.  Truly, I’m impressed with how these guys play on such a unified front and how much everything feels like it belongs.  Lukas likely gets much of the starring role with the guitars having such a significant presence in this first tune featuring the new band…he sounds perfectly solid in the verses providing the rhythm & such, and when he goes to light it up for a solo, you’ll get all the audible proof you need to know the dude’s got the JUICE.  Shawn takes on more of a backing role in this particular track, but make no mistake, he’s right in the mix where he should be at all times…playing in tandem with the guitar lines and such tends to make it tougher to stand out to the average everyday listener, but he’s reinforcing the low-end of the Sixty Miles Down sound right how you’d want him to.  You get a good sample of what Mike brings to the throne as well…steady hits on the drums, and killer fills whenever he gets himself a little more room to move along the way.  As for Mosco’s vocals…c’mon y’all…how Alice In Chains didn’t come bangin’ on this dude’s door to fill in for Layne after he passed, I might never know.  I was seriously impressed by the courage it took to release the last single with how much of a departure it was from what we knew of 60MD & how bare-bones it was, but I find myself equally impressed by the pure professionalism & control you can hear in him in the way he sings “Another Sunset.”  Love the melodic design of the verses, love the way he’s got the pre-chorus mixed, the surrounding vocalizations are a key feature of this song, and the chorus raises the stakes to deliver the most memorable moments of all just like it should.  Plus…I don’t want this to go unmentioned – the keys that I’d presume are added in here by John also make an excellent contribution to this track that really help in balancing out its structure.

All of these elements are a tremendously positive sign that this band is setting up shop to head right into the most groundbreaking year of its existence so far if you ask me.  Are there improvements that can still be made?  Something to build on?  Room to evolve?  Of course!  Lest we forget, the full band has only been together for a short while so far…but like I said, if this is where it starts, I think it’s exciting to think about just how far they could go from here.  What would I want to hear differently?  I think that I’d be tempted to give Lukas a bit more space for the solos…I mean, why not?  Dude can shred, but when you listen to “Another Sunset,” you also get the sense that the guy knows not to overplay too…as in, he knows what to do with the time he gets and it genuine contributes to the song, rather than take away from the rest of what’s happening around the solo.  I think Shawn’s got the most room to find ways to not only load up the low-end of 60MD’s sound, but find his own space to innovate and stand out a little more than he does here.  He can obviously play, and he sounds confident…I’m just saying that I’d be interested in finding out what else he could do in the future.  I feel like I like everything that Mike is doing, but that his snare needs more beef…it’s a little on the plain side of sound, and with a bit more punch to it, I feel like Sixty Miles Down would be that much more ferocious and dynamic to listen to.  As far as John goes…he ain’t off the hook either.  I’d probably recommend continuing to find ways to contribute the keys or programming…however he’s doin’ it…because that’s good shit and it helps greatly to diversify the sound even further.  Vocally, I think he’s put in a sensational performance here and there are no flaws in the way he’s singin’ it.  Lyrically…for the most part, I’m fine with “Another Sunset” – but I’m not about to go and proclaim that he’s got his best out there yet either.  A line like “Another sunset paints these walls” is freakin’ brilliant, built perfectly to be the hook, and it’s unique…I love that.  Lines like “I wish to God that I could learn how to fly / fly away from yesterday and today” aren’t gonna cut it though, from my perspective…that’s where the focus slips a little bit and John resorts to a cliché that we’ve all heard too much – haven’t we?  Sometimes I lose perspective on that, I’ll be honest.  I’m over here, listening to thousands of songs every month, and there’s never one that goes by where someone isn’t flying for this reason or that reason…with none of them saying anything as substantial as their authors would intend them to be.  Anyhow.  I’m the guy that is always going to challenge artists/bands to say things in ways that no one else has before, opposed to simply rubber stamping things just cause they sound good.  It’s always in effort to get those we listen to really tapping into what can make them great and separate themselves from the rest of what’s out there.  So don’t go getting it twisted…just because I’ve got some notes here doesn’t mean I don’t like or love what I’m hearing in “Another Sunset” – this is an excellent start/reset for the band overall without a doubt, and I really feel like they’ve got the kind of momentum & talent it takes to propel them right into the most exciting chapter we’ve heard from Sixty Miles Down to follow.

Find out more about Sixty Miles Down from their official website at:  https://60md.com

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