The phrase, “the agony of the leaves,” derives from hot water pouring over tea leaves. As the tea steeps and the leaves unfurl, they release various flavors to the water, evolving the taste. While The Daredevil Christopher Wright’s debut album, In Deference to a Broken Back, doesn’t dramatize the agonies given them, they do face the weighty issues of cancer, death, and loss with a realistic and offbeat tone. Their joyful music is layered with the profundity of small moments that flavor life.
The first notes begin with Jon Sunde of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, who studied classical voice, plays tennis, and dislikes fruit in his desserts. Mutual friends introduced him to Jesse Edgington, frequently clothed in grandpa sweaters with a knack for making some mean pesto, and finally, Jon’s older brother Jason Sunde came on board after some hesitancy and a stint to Finland. And the music continued to evolve.
Two years ago, Jason’s struggle with a back injury inspired the recording of In Deference to a Broken Back, the band’s debut full-length. Mixed by fellow Eau Claire friend, Justin Vernon of the acclaimed Bon Iver, each song offers a story, whether centered on the true events of a brother’s move to New England (“The East Coast”), or fictionalized as in the couple who have plans to be a playwright and stewardess (“Stewardess”). It is the depth in the mundane they prefer, the grouping together of “faith and rocks and slings and things” (“A Conversation About Cancer”). The Daredevil Christopher Wright are the park bench overlooking a mighty river, the subtitles to a foreign film, and the back screen door left to slam shut in the excitement of a ten-year-old on a summer day.
