Get Entranced with Sunstoney’s “In Your Apartment”

The D.C. music scene has always been a vibrant intermingling of world-class musicians with roots in countless genres. As the world attempts to recover from Covid-19, both new and established acts from the area are barreling back headfirst into the music scene — and they’ve got a lot to share. Read on for our reviews of 10 local artists’ impressive new releases. 

Sunstoney’s “In Your Apartment” is all experimental R&B soundscapes and trancelike vocals. The album is a melancholic exploration of love, depression, missed connections and hazed-out nostalgia.

It’s intimate and slow-moving like a night spent alone with your own thoughts, locked doors and solitude. “Had it up to here with you babe/what a shame what a shame/is it ever gonna change/for you,” she sings, “Where’d you go?”

As the album moves on, her probing and discontentedness become indiscriminate, and it feels almost impossible whether Sunstoney is singing to some nameless lover or to herself. Each track flows into the next circa The Weeknd’s 2012 “Trilogy” mixtape. Tracks no. five and eight “It Is What It Is” and “Egg Shells” are a lighter, more energetic interlude next to soft listens such as track 3 “Astral Plane.”

The album’s hidden gem however, is no. 6: “Lock You Up.” Sunstoney’s vocals shine here, vibrant and soulful as she sings, “I’m in your atmosphere/won’t you come closer dear,” and bemoans the unsecured nature of new relationships, wanting to lock someone down no matter how early.

We are under Sunstoney’s spell, entirely taken away by her timeless sound. The album closes on bonus track “Factories,” beginning with a triad of notes that mirror. “Factories” is truly the bonus it’s proclaimed to be, filled with intentional stylizing, yearning melodies, and vivid lyrics. 

Keep an eye out for her soon-to-be confirmed November and December show dates. Get to know Sunstoney at linktr.ee/sunstoney or on Instagram @sunstoney.