The Daredevil Christopher Wright
“The East Coast”

Watching Jon Sunde over the last few years was akin to anxiously waiting for a pot to boil. A talented singer-songwriter, it was obvious Sunde was restless and unfulfilled playing small gigs by himself in and around Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Sunde’s music was thoughtful and beautifully crafted yet it somehow seemed incomplete, as if Sunde was thinking beyond and ahead of himself, but was simply limited by his one-mandom.

Enter friend, Jesse Edgington, and brother, Jason Sunde. Together, they formed The Daredevil Christopher Wright in the summer of 2004 and Jon’s songs grew into whimsical pop/folk creations bolstered with unconventional instrumentation and lush ballads enriched with gorgeous three-part harmonies.

The band’s first full-length album In Deference to a Broken Back will be the band’s third release and showcases more of the quirky, carefree writing that defines The Daredevil Christopher Wright’s music. But often, their joyful sounding music masks weightier lyrics and concepts. Deference includes tracks titled “A Conversation about Cancer,” “War Stories,” and “Hospital” — pretty serious subjects for pop songs.

Similarly, the first single off the album, “The East Coast,” is a delightful song whose lyrics have more depth than the sounds they are encased in. A biographical song about the third Sunde brother and his wife moving to New England, the track is laced with recorder, violin, and glockenspiel and punctuated by incidental wood block and tambourine. It is clear listening to this track that the trio knows one another well, musically and personally, and as a result Jon’s songs have finally come to fruition.