Ball of Wax 33 Songs: Sun Tunnels – “Commit-Spike”

Sun Tunnels, the musical alter ego of Louis O’Callaghan, trades in the highest grade of indie rock classicism and singer-songwriter goodness. His songs do more than evoke everything you love about Built to Spill, Neutral Milk Hotel, or Elliot Smith – they often stand up beside them. While Sun Tunnels has been a full band project of late, “Commit-Spike” is a sparse, acoustic-guitar driven track. The arrangement and production is straight ahead and simple, leaving Louis space to nail the important stuff – dynamics, lyrical phrasing and a clever melody that demands multiple listens. As even a mild dip into any local music scene proves, a solo acoustic act is really tough to pull off well, especially for more than a couple of songs. Louis is one of Seattle’s finest – come see for yourself at the Ball of Wax 33 release show on September 7th at Conor Byrne in Ballard.