Dominic Fike's 'Sunburn' Is a Sun-Soaked Self-Portrait of Nostalgia, Florida, and Lost Innocence
Just in time for the unforgiving heat, Dominic Fike marks the spike of summer with Sunburn, a varied and eclectic album that honors every iteration of Fike’s amorphous musical identity.
As the actor and multifaceted musician enters a pivotal up-leveling, no longer proving his worth but rather maintaining his status, Sunburn is a robust declaration of wisened artistry. He’s vulnerable and reminiscent, yet hungry and aware of his stature. Storytelling through rap, rock, and timeless indie, there’s something for every kind of Fike fan on this album.
We open the project with “How Much Is Weed,” a muffled, melancholic indie intro that sets the project’s tone. A theme threaded through Sunburn is his Florida upbringing, veiling himself with a sense of intimacy, one where the sun and the discipline necessary to rise from nothing sit complacently alongside an appreciation of the depth it takes to survive off scraps.
A lot of the tracks in Sunburn blink by, sitting at around two minutes, while the Weezer-assisted “Think Fast” sits just under four. It was a genius move to have them be the only feature on the project, a profoundly respected band that defined multiple generations' summers with varying degrees of hit and indie singles. “Think Fast,” which first debuted live on his “Out of Order” Tour opening night in Seattle, is a perfect Fike song. It honors all of his surefire elements, from sorrowful acoustics to a verse with effortless cadence.
“Sick” is a dizzying tug of war between finding both an enemy and a lover in a person, while the project’s title track is a vengeful reclamation of Fike’s due flowers, reminding us of what he’s built from nothing. It only makes sense that the nostalgia-driven artist continues to remind us that his career wasn’t handed to him but earned through ability and tenacity. Sunburn introduces to a Dominic Fike drenched in well-earned gratitude, one that will only tell his story the honest way.
Listen to Sunburn below:
