Mexican-American independent artist Sunflower Summit released her acoustic song collection “When It Snows” ft. Katie Dwyer & jANiCKA on the 22nd of December.
Sunflower Summit’s “When It Snow” has a serene wintery vibe throughout the length of its seven—soon to be eight— tracks. Did I mention that “When It Snows” will be released on the 13th of January with instrumental versions of the songs plus a bonus track? I guess I forgot, but now that we’ve got that covered, let’s talk about the released song collection and of course the Chicago-based Sunflower Summit herself.
The songs from “When It Snows” all feel like a small blanket, a warm mug, and a snowy window looking out to a still-white landscape. Sunflower Summit’s soft, heartwarming singing and wholesome lyrics are comforting in the same way as sitting next to a fireplace huddled on a sofa.
Each song in “When It Snows” has a unique melody, writing style, lyrical theme, and instrumental elements different from all the other songs in the collection drawing from Sunflower Summit’s vast classical and contemporary musical influences. Aside from the overarching vibe and warm feeling of “When It Snows”, no two songs are the same.
The collection starts lightly with “Lightly”, a song about Sunflower Summit’s longing for wintertime.
“This time of year puts me in such a state
Wish it could be like this all my days
When the earth slows down to take a break”
The first track features an acoustic guitar, strings, and Sunflower Summit’s soft yet powerful vocal performance with unexpected and haunting melodies.
“Snow Stones” ft. Katie Dwyer and “Snow Ocean” ft. jANiCKA are Sunflower Summit’s collaborative efforts on “When It Snows” which are more dynamically vibrant and energetic and work really effectively in creating dynamic shifts in mood throughout the collection when listened to in the intended sequence. The last song “Dreaming Again” is my personal favorite and a powerful closer, but I won’t spoil any of the details. I don’t recommend skipping straight to it though, as the context of the previous tracks makes it so much more impactful.
“When It Snows” is a reminder to pause from the stresses of life and work, and to contemplate what we truly value when snow is all there is and all that’s left.