It’s clear to most of us at Sheesh, that Sunburn by Dominic Fike is one of the best albums of the year so far. The albums catalog has 2-3 pop hits, 3-4 high caliber features/collaborations, a single fans have been waiting on for over a year, and multiple new deep cut tracks that I can’t wait to share with you over the course of this review. I’ll get into recommendations, but the most notable facts about this project come in the collaborations category where Dom clearly did not hold back. 

At face value, we see the Weezer feature on "Think Fast" that really has been a long time coming due to the fact that he used to cover "Say It Ain’t So" at every show he played. But not only did he link up with his heroes in Weezer, but the long awaited single ‘"Frisky" that helped promote the album over a year ago was actually co-written by every single member from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Of course that is an amazing feat no matter who you are, but if you look closely, RHCP’s veteran guitarist John Frusciante is tattooed on Fike’s right hand because of how much Dom idolizes him. To round out the collaborations category, the single "Bodies" has a direct vocal feature from Remi Wolf who Dom last linked up with on the remix of Remi’s song "Photo ID."

As far as the content of the album goes, we were beyond blessed. Great music that stands the test of time is hard to come by these days with the shortened attention spans and social-media-singles, but Sunburn was everything Dom needed to say, and everything we needed to hear. 

Throughout the album he reflects on where he grew up, past relationships, and on times that he fell short. He isn’t telling us to follow in his footsteps, he simply is sharing his life with the world in the only way he knows how. Whether it’s songs like "Dark" where he dives into not wanting to be like his father and hurt the people he loves, or on "7 Hours" where he would do anything to be with his love, there is a part of the true human experience in everything he made.

After listening to this on repeat for 5-6 hours, I have finally come to a conclusion on how I would recommend this to someone. Sunburn is an album to live to, not one to live up to, and that is why this album stands out from everything else that has come out this year. My best advice is to start from the beginning and to let this album be the companion to everything that you do. This album is a blessing, and although it took nearly two years for us to get it, Sunburn was well worth the wait.

‍