Dominic Fike – Sunburn

Dominic Fike's Sunburn is his second album, released in 2023, and it feels closely tied to the Florida past he keeps circling back to. Songs including “Dancing in the Courthouse” draw on his youth in Naples and his run-ins with the law there, giving the record a more autobiographical frame than a simple alt-pop set.

Where Fike's debut leaned more heavily on hip-hop, Sunburn shifts toward 2000s pop and West Coast pop-punk, while still moving easily between pop, rock and R&B. The reggae-tinged ease of “Dancing in the Courthouse,” the groove-led “Ant Pile,” and “Think Fast” with Weezer all show how comfortably he folds guitar music, melody and offhand hooks into one style. Several sources also point to the album's introspective character, making it one of his clearest snapshots of where he was creatively at the time.

This LP edition is worth noting for one small but real difference: the vinyl tracklist is not identical to the digital album, with “Mona Lisa” absent here. Even so, Sunburn works well as a compact version of the album's sunlit, reflective mood, and a strong picture of Fike broadening his sound on his second full-length.