Adam Sultan: “The Great Divide”

They say, “write what you know”. And in music, if you know something well enough to perfect its performance, that usually means you’ve absorbed the material enough to build upon it and make it your own.

So let’s talk about Austin’s Adam Sultan. Sultan started off a singer-guitarist in the ’90s with Poi Dog Pondering before moving onto Flying Saucers, Hollowbody, and Mistress Stephanie And Her Melodic Cat. Adam’s also collaborated with Graham Reynolds for Richard Linklater scores, not to mention ascended to multi-hyphenate status, splitting time as a podcast host, meditation teacher, theater player, photographer, storyteller, and even a perfumer.

But here’s the kicker. Adam Sultan is a bona fide master when it comes to the art of musical tribute; his ongoing work with Super Creeps and Magnifico has granted Adam an intimate perspective to the discographies of David Bowie and Queen, respectively. And since you don’t just play those golden oldies time and time again without soaking up some of the timbres and songwriting formulas, when Sultan puts his six-string and pen to work, that classic rock royalty oozes right out onto the record. That’s something you can quickly pick up on with Adam Sultan’s two recently released singles. Where last month’s “Hard to Kill” captures Bowie’s earlier baroque folk era, January’s “The Great Divide” dives right into that later, heavier, glam rock period. Crazy to think we’re hearing such retro-sounding stuff like this in 2024, so major kudos to the Sultan himself for keeping those styles alive.

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