Sunny War: Five Essential Albums

Women's history is world history, but care is taken in March to elevate the message and mission of Women's History Month. We've asked some of the Women We Love to write about their Five Essential Albums for FUV.

On her strikingly-titled album, Armageddon in a Summer Dress, Sunny War and producer Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Margo Price) had in mind a bigger band sound, but still remained true to the inherent intimacy of Sunny's vibe (and yes, there's a squall of electric guitars here). The pair also reached out to fellow artists who, like Sunny, traverse punk, rock, roots, and folk: X's John Doe, Crass's Steve Ignorant, Valerie June, Tré Burt, the Raconteurs' Jack Lawrence, Kyshona Armstrong, and the Deslondes' John James Tourville. There's plenty that Sunny and friends have to say about this haywire world and its damaging affect on humanity.

Her fifth album follows 2023's Anarchist Gospel, an album that served as a significant breakthrough for this unorthodox songwriter, whose incisive lyricism lands with a quiet, devastating punch, evident when she performed an acoustic FUV Live concert at City Winery a couple of years ago.

With Armageddon in a Summer Dress, released in February on New West, the Tennessee musician shows how good an interpreter she is of that intersection between punk and folk — two legacy anti-establishment genres that have elevated voices of dissent over decades. Storms brew in  "Walking Contradiction" (with Steve Ignorant) and the gently-delivered "Cry Baby" (featuring Valerie June), but Sunny possesses a certitude that there's a way to ride out any tempest, whether personal or political.

Ahead of her spring 2024 tour with the Dead South, FUV asked Sunny War to write about her "Five Essential Albums" — and got to know more about this compelling musician's early influences in the process:

Sunny War: Five Essential Albums:

It's hard to decide what albums have been most influential to me so here are five I find most addictive. I discover a lot of new albums every year and still have unwrapped records I haven't got around to spinning yet. These are five albums I can't help but listen to every year no matter what new albums enter the rotation.

Public Enemy, It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
I first heard Public Enemy sometime in the '90s when my mom decided I was old enough to watch Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing." My mom talked through the whole movie and got me pretty pumped on listening to some of her CDs. My mom and Radio Raheem got me interested in this album, but Chuck D and Terminator X kept me coming back. I didn't first start attempting to make beats/electronic music 'til 2020, but that journey left me with an even greater appreciation for this album's sampling and wizardry.

Bad Brains, Rock for Light
As a Bad Brains fan, I know it is extremely controversial to say Rock for Light is my favorite Bad Brains album, but ... Rock for Light is my favorite Bad Brains album! I got my first electric guitar and a practice amp for Christmas when I was about 12 or 13. A teacher at an after-school program I attended in South Central burned me a copy of Rock for Light and other albums he thought I should hear. It was the first hardcore album I had ever heard and I was so excited to try to learn every song on that album. I spent so much time trying to learn those songs on my Epiphone Les Paul and practice amp that my mom gave me a guitar curfew. The guitar curfew and teenage angst only fueled my anger and newfound passion for hardcore and loud guitars. Only a few months after hearing this album, I was sporting a PMA tattoo and mohawk. I love HR and this record cos it was the beginning of the end for me in all the best ways.

Gillian Welch, Time (The Revelator)
My mom and stepdad were really into this album when it came out. Luckily, I had just started learning to play guitar around this time. I was in a children's group guitar class once a week and trying to soak up everything I heard outside of class. I didn't know much about music at that age and wasn't very good at interpreting whatever instrumentation I heard in recordings. I had no idea that there were two people playing on this album as a child. I assumed Gillian and David [Rawling]'s parts were just one person playing. This confusion kinda led me to my current guitar style. I tried very hard to play Gillian's rhythm parts aside some of Dave's leads for most of my life. I now have quite the collection of interesting Gillian Welch covers under my belt. As I got older, and more interested in lyrics than guitar, this record became even more magical. I still can't explain how it makes me feel, but it's definitely one of my favorite albums of all time.

Elliott Smith, Roman Candle
I love all Elliott Smith albums, but in the last couple years this one's become my new favorite. It feels like we shouldn't be allowed to hear it. It's Elliott relaxed and incomplete. I like that there are four unnamed songs and an instrumental. It's like a peek at his creative process and it's also a very soothing album. "No Name #1" is probably my favorite song of his. That song makes me feel like I'm hungover and laughing after crying all night.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch original motion picture soundtrack
If this was a real band they'd be my favorite. But real or not, I am the biggest Hedwig fan and this is the best soundtrack ever made. And "The Origin of Love" is a way more convincing story than all religions. The musical, movie, and songs are all brilliantly written and executed.

- Sunny War
March 2025