Going to the Sun’s latest CD bridges new horizons
BREAKOUT BOX
Going To The Sun’s albums can be purchased, both as a CD or digitally, on the band’s website, www.goingtothesunmusic.com.
The Minneapolis-based band Going To The Sun’s new album, “Love Letters From The Western Gate” is a rich and earthy mix of music perhaps best listened to cranked up with a good pair of headphones.
Founded by two Kalispell natives who were acquainted in high school and reunited in Minneapolis, David Young’s professional music career spans more than 20 years in the Twin Cities area and, together with Zach Young, the two forged the rock band Down and Above there for 14 years before releasing their debut album as the duo Going To The Sun (an obvious nod to their roots) in 2014.
As Going To The Sun, David Young, lead singer and multi-instrumentalist (FHS ’95), with percussionist Zach Young (FHS ’96) have carved out a unique sound both harmonic and gritty, infused with saturated instrumentation and a host of guest musicians and vocalists. In one of its numerous glowing reviews it has been described as “Mountainsize Music.”
No doubt about it, Going To The Sun’s sound gets big, but as the band’s songwriter David Young says, their music is always anchored to something solid.
David took time recently to talk to the Daily Inter Lake about the new album.
“These songs are our own stories but I hope they resonate with other people’s own stories too,” he said.
The 10 tracks on the album are immersed in intimate lyrics, at times reflective, at times haunting. They range from highly danceable to memorable melodies, yearning heartache, and anthemic resilience.
“I was writing the kind of songs I wanted to hear,” Young said, “the kind that not only comes from heavy grief but with the hope I could make a connection with other people and give solace.”
The duo’s debut album “Going To The Sun,” released in 2014, was composed as a journey through grief and healing following the 2009 tragic car accident in Kalispell that took the lives of David’s sister-in-law Erin Thompson, her 13-old-son Caden Odell, and Erin’s unborn child. David’s wife Amber is Erin’s sister.
Released May 29 of this year, “Love Letters From The Western Gate” is Going To The Sun’s second full-length album.
Amber Young is executive producer on the album. The cover on the new CD is her original work of art. She also contributes vocals on both albums.
(The painting) was chaotic but also beautiful, David said. “For me it represented finding love in the chaos.”
The lyrics to the song “Western Gate” on the new album, as Young explains it, describe him chasing a beloved ghost into the wilderness.
“It’s a quest. You catch a glimpse, but if you look too hard, you won’t find it. It’s my way of finding meaning after going through loss.”
A big Ken Burns fan, Young learned from one of his documentaries of the Chumash Native people’s belief in a physical portal on California’s coast called the Western Gate where souls leave this life to enter the next.
“So much of what I write about deals with the Western Gate, of listening for the voice of someone beloved on the other side,” Young said. “And doing what I can to live a full life while I’m on this side.”
In response to the pandemic the band has also produced its first official music video on YouTube for their “Hopeful Song” track on the new album.
“Because of the quarantine we didn’t have a way to connect with people and the music industry changes so fast … so we adapted,” Young said. “It was a joy to put together. I can almost hear it better when I can see it.”
Although the band hasn’t played a gig since the pandemic started out of caution for themselves and others, they do plan on making more music videos.
“As it’s said, when one door closes, another opens,” Young said.
Going To The Sun’s music bursts with love, resilience and energy. David Young and Zach Young have put together a spirited, powerful and intimate album.
Reach for this harmonic, pop-rock, burnished collection and make “Love Letters From The Western Gate” your beautiful end-of-summer swan song.
