Sunny War Releases "Cry Baby" Ft. Valerie June Today - "Armageddon In A Summer Dress" Out February 21

SUNNY WAR RETURNS WITH ARMAGEDDON IN A SUMMER DRESS FEBRUARY 21, 2025 VIA NEW WEST RECORDS 

FEATURING VALERIE JUNE, JOHN DOE OF X, STEVE IGNORANT OF CRASS, TRÉ BURT,  JACK LAWRENCE OF THE RACONTEURS, JOHN JAMES TOURVILLE OF THE DESLONDES, AND MORE

PASTE MAGAZINE PREMIERES “CRY BABY” FEATURING VALERIE JUNE TODAY 

TO APPEAR AT BIG EARS FESTIVAL MARCH 27-30, 2025
 

Sunny War Photograph by Joshua Black Wilkins

Sunny War returns with Armageddon in a Summer Dress on February 21, 2025, via New West Records. The 11-song set was produced by Andrija Tokic (Alabama Shakes, Hurray for the Riff Raff) and features guest appearances by Valerie June, John Doe of X, Steve Ignorant of Crass, Tré Burt, Jack Lawrence of the Raconteurs, Kyshona Armstrong, John James Tourville of the Deslondes, and more. Armageddon in a Summer Dress follows 2023’s Anarchist Gospel, which appeared on numerous “Best of the Year” lists including Rolling Stone, NPR Music, Uncut, Paste Magazine, No Depression, Flood Magazine, Magnet Magazine, The Bitter Southerner, and more. NPR Music called Anarchist Gospel “thrilling,” Mojo called it “exceptional” and a “significant breakthrough,” while Bandcamp called it a “stellar work of art.” Pitchfork called it “emotionally resonant and curiously hopeful,” while Rolling Stone said, “It all amounts to a powerful statement from a singer-songwriter poised to become one of the year’s most vital voices in roots music.” Anarchist Gospel’s success also took Sunny War on the road appearing alongside Mitski, Iron & Wine, John Doe & Exene Cervenka of X, Bonnie Raitt, and more. 

Today, Paste Magazine premiered the new single “Cry Baby” which features Valerie June. She says, “I’ve opened for Valerie June quite a bit and years ago I asked her if I could try and write a song for her. Somewhere in Portland, OR, I wrote ‘Cry Baby’ with Valerie in mind. I always listen to her when I want to be calmed down or hugged. I’m stoked that she was down to sing on this song inspired by her.” Share “Cry Baby” featuring Sunny War HERE.

Sunny War previously shared the video for the album’s first single, “Walking Contradiction,” a duet with the legendary Steve Ignorant of Crass. Recruiting Steve to sing on the anarcho-punk anthem was a full-circle moment for Sunny, who counts Crass among her all-time favorite bands. She wrote the song especially for him: with its snaking blues melody, ominous organ chords, and her guitar tagging the walls of city hall, the song is a smart, scowling depiction of late-capitalist America, where even the best of us are compromised by a fundamentally evil system. Their voices suggest a wild chemistry between them, possibly because Sunny’s been singing along with Steve for decades. She says, “He’s my hero for life. When I started listening to Crass, it changed everything about how I thought about everything.” Steve Ignorant says, "It's always an honour to collaborate with someone you respect and Sunny War is no exception. She is the younger voice, taking up the torch of hope in this dark world. The minute I heard the song I knew it would work and recording it was an incredibly emotional experience. The lyrics are now in my head for good - which is not a bad thing, and who knows - maybe one day we'll get the chance to perform it together live." She also previously shared the album highlight “Scornful Heart,” featuring Tré Burt.  

Following the release of her breakthrough Anarchist Gospel, Sunny moved into her late father’s house in Chattanooga. She thought the place was haunted. “I spent the winter seeing things and hearing things,” she says. “The house is 100 years old, and I was in there by myself. I could hear people walking around and talking, but when I jumped out of bed with my machete, there was nobody there. I assumed it was my dad, and I started writing about the ghosts that I was living with.” Sunny’s house wasn’t haunted, at least not the way she initially suspected. “Something broke and I had to fix it, so I called the gas company even though I didn’t have the money. The guy discovered major gas leaks all over the house. I thought I was losing my mind, but I was just hallucinating from the gas. After I got that fixed, I never saw or heard another ghost.” That’s not to say they weren’t there, just that she could no longer detect them. Armageddon is rooted in the disorientation of those hallucinations. In songs that are deeply incisive and keenly imaginative, Sunny ponders the act of crossing boundaries—between worlds, between musical genres, summoning the ghosts of the people she lost, the people she once was, and the people she was not allowed to be. 

  Off the road and back at her not-haunted house, Sunny did her best to stay busy, lest she lapse back into the alcohol and drug abuse that almost killed her years ago. “If I’m not touring, I’m either going to play music all day or I’m going to get drunk. It’s really one or the other. I’m just obsessively trying to work on something so that I’m making healthier decisions that day.” She spent long days recording elaborate demos, chasing ideas and assembling whole songs from the ground up. The intense demo process allowed her to experiment with new textures, and she found herself gravitating away from her trusty acoustic guitar for an electric. “Touring behind Anarchist Gospel made me want to make a bigger-sounding record and have a whole band rather than just playing solo acoustic or with a three piece. I wanted to try stuff out of my comfort zone and try and have more fun playing. I definitely wanted to make this album for a badass five-piece band.” 

Armageddon in a Summer Dress reveals an artist further refining her vibrant mix of punk and roots. “To me it’s the same kind of music. If you’re into punk for the lyrics and the message, there’s definitely a lot of old-time music that has that spirit. Folk used to be very anti-establishment. Pete Seeger, union songs, Woody Guthrie—that’s punk rock shit. It’s all about being an outsider.” What kind of person would Sunny be had she never heard Crass? Or Robert Johnson? Or any of her heroes? Those mirror-universe Sunnys are just some of the ghosts that haunts Armageddon in a Summer Dress: all of those different selves would have led different lives. These songs tally up everything that’s lost as you grow up and grow old, all of those small occurrences that turn out to be pivotal. As dire as some of these songs may be, they’re also righteous and therefore joyous in their exhortations to live on your own terms, to fight injustice wherever you see it, and to always reach for new ways to express yourself.” 

Sunny War’s Armageddon in a Summer Dress will be available across digital platforms, compact disc, and standard black vinyl. A limited Clear Pink color vinyl edition as well as a limited compact disc edition autographed by Sunny War will be available at Independent Retailers. A limited Green & Black Swirl color vinyl edition of 200 will be available via Rough Trade. A limited signed compact disc edition as well as a limited “Cry Baby Blue” color vinyl edition of 500 will be available directly via NEW WEST RECORDS. 

 

Armageddon in a Summer Dress Track Listing: 

1. One Way Train
2. Bad Times
3. Rise
4. Ghosts
5. Walking Contradiction (feat. Steve Ignorant)
6. Cry Baby (feat. Valerie June)
7. No One Calls Me Baby
8. Scornful Heart (feat. Tré Burt)
9. Gone Again (feat. John Doe)
10. Lay Your Body
11. Debbie Downer

Sunny War On Tour:

February 21, 2025 – Nashville, TN – Third Man Records *Record Release Show
March 27-30, 2025 – Knoxville, TN – Big Ears Festival 

www.SunnyWar.com 
www.NewWestRecords.com