It's the crispness in the air, the surreal touch of sunshine draped upon a cooling earth, the transformation of foliage from the height of vitality to colorful decay and the chilled- nose recognition that breath is entering the body. That blissful time spent outdoors is fading, that dusk is tiptoeing closer and closer toward afternoon. It's the pivotal fulcrum between that which is sublime-- beauty-- and that which is most sorrowful in this world-- loss. It's what makes the first intimations of autumn so extraordinary, and it's what makes Sunny Day Real Estate's newest release, How It Feels To Be Something On, the most profound musical creation to appear in years.

1994's Diary established Sunny Day Real Estate as the new prototype for brooding musical ruminations (the industry catchphrase is "emo"), embodying in songs like "Seven" and "Circles" an immediacy nearly paralyzing in its intensity. The band's underrated self- titled second release, which was admittedly more obtuse, was prevented proper recognition mostly due to the band's decision to part ways around the same time. An excessively experimental solo project by the band's captain, Jeremy Enigk, failed to convey his former band's shining genius, and a fortunate acknowledgment of this fact led to Sunny Day's recent reunification.

The results are shimmering, to say the least. "Pillars" immediately places us within ourselves, exploring the vast terrain of internal sorrows, while Enigk's velvety voicings offer soothing support. Rhythmic daring propels "Roses In Water" from its reserved beginning to its explosive end. The album's title track and "Guitar And Video Games" strike at the heart of all that makes us human, begging us to profess our deepest sympathies and dearest sensibilities.

How It Feels To Be Something On is also remarkable in the wide variety of influences it contains. "Two Promises" and "100 Million" bear at least a slight resemblance to the Beatles' later works. An aborigine chant lulls us into "The Prophet," and after the trance- like atmosphere gradually expands, the song charges into a driving groove reminiscent of U2's long- gone epic creations. Even "Days Were Golden," the album's closer, picks up the softer moments of Smashing Pumpkins' Siamese Dream and catapults them straight to heaven.

In this season of fall, we sadly recognize that "Nothing gold can stay"; but listening to How It Feels To Be Something On reminds us that even our deepest losses are capable of bearing gold as well.

-Kevin Ruggeri