Sunjay 'Split The Sheets' album review: When love meets a Little Rock ’n’ Roll

The title Split The Sheets might lead you to expect something a little more sultry than Sunjay’s tenth studio album actually delivers. There’s certainly plenty of love here, but this is less about what happens between the sheets and more about what happens to the heart once you’ve climbed out of them.

Taken from the album’s opening track, “That’s Love”, the title sets the tone rather well. It’s a funny, witty song with an infectious, dancing groove. Sunjay clearly isn’t taking the subject of love too seriously, and that sense of fun runs throughout an album that explores its many ups, downs and complications.

There’s a noticeable shift towards old-school country, roots and Americana here, with less of the blues influence that has featured so strongly in Sunjay’s music previously. Yet this isn’t a straight country record. Rock ’n’ roll, rockabilly and blues all make appearances, giving the album plenty of variety while Sunjay’s buoyant vocals provide the common thread.

A funky country-rock treatment of Ricky Nelson’s “It’s Late” gives the classic rockabilly song a fresh lease of life, while the Jimmy Reed classic “Take Out Some Insurance” brings the blues back into the picture. Here, the guitar really catches the ear, not through flashy soloing but through subtle riffs and recurring refrains that serve the song beautifully.

That restraint is perhaps one of the more surprising aspects of Split The Sheets. Given Sunjay’s reputation as a superb guitarist, there isn’t as much guitar on the album as you might expect. When it does appear, the playing is understated and tasteful, always there to serve the song.

“Love’s Made a Fool Out of You” heads in another direction, with an infectious Bo Diddley-style riff and a definite hand-jive feel. “Killing the Blues” reveals a much more tender side. Tucked away at track eight, it’s one of the album’s real gems: a beautiful country/Americana ballad with shades of Mary Chapin Carpenter in its arrangement. The Rowland Salley composition, also famously covered by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, feels so perfectly placed that it could almost have served as the album’s closing statement.

Except there are still six tracks to go.

And that is perhaps where Split The Sheets occasionally pushes its limits. At fourteen tracks, it is a fairly substantial album, and there are moments when a little editing might have made its impact even stronger. But there is plenty to enjoy along the way, including the lovely harmonies and roots-country folk feel of “If I Needed You”, before Bo Diddley makes another appearance with “Who Do You Love”.

Then there is “It Must Be Love”, the latest single and another radio-friendly country number. Originally written by Robert Lee McDill and famously recorded by Don Williams, it suits Sunjay’s approach perfectly. Warm, upbeat and uncomplicated, his version retains the charm of the original while giving it a energetic band arrangement.

Split The Sheets may not be quite the steamy proposition its title initially suggests, but it is an album absolutely immersed in love. Sunjay takes songs with deep roots in the musical traditions he clearly loves and gives them a glow-up.