Album Review: Sunbleached – Stop Destroying The Things You Love (Community Music)

Brisbane alt-rock outfit Sunbleached will drop their upcoming debut album, ‘Stop Destroying the Things You Love’, on September 18th, 2026, via Community Music.

If the aim of opener Delicate Places We Hide was to show off the evolving sound of Sunbleached then I would say they nailed it. Showcasing their exciting experimentation with heavier ideas and sounds, while retaining the strong alternative aspects that make what they do such a compelling listen.

It’s Sunbleached, filled with all the feeling we’ve come to expect from them, but not quite as we know it. Which gives us bright and brilliant anthems like Flesh Heaven, dramatic and intense efforts like Slow Burn (the vocals are ace), and melody-laced, moody listens like Everyone Leaves. I think the first third of this album is enough to convince anyone truly listening that it’s quite special.

Yet, if more convincing is needed, Sunbleached have the songs and the middle part of record features some of my favourites. For example, Maybe I’ll Come Around might come with a hefty amount of gloom, but the melodies are gorgeous, the chorus is infectious, and the last seconds, with the paired vocals, sounds so good.

Then there is Star Crossed Lover, a track that puts me in mind of a cosmic diner made up like the Double R, and just like the world of Twin Peaks, it’s a track filled with mysterious danger and forbidden love. I love it.

Elsewhere, the evolution continues to be notable and Blue Like You, Painchamber (this is heavy), the title track (nice and grungy), and Dissolve and Bloom showcase sharp creativity and solid variety. Sunbleached have gone above and beyond to make their debut album feel big and bold, and it is mission well and truly accomplished. Especially when a track like Sweet Pea wraps things up in such a mood-altering way.

This is an awesome debut record. Sunbleached have already built up one hell of a reputation thanks to several EP releases and plenty of singles, but this is something else. It’s an arrival, a statement, a showcase of the future, and demand that everyone start giving them the attention they deserve. It’s really hard to argue with them.

Sunbleached – Stop Destroying the Things You Love Track Listing:

1. Delicate Places We Hide
2. Flesh Heaven
3. Slow Burn
4. Everyone Leaves
5. Maybe I’ll Come Around
6. Star Crossed Lover
7. Blue Like You
8. Painchamber
9. Stop Destroying the Things You Love
10. Dissolve and Bloom
11. Sweet Pea

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