"Watershed" CD Review July, 2005 Matt Richter, Shepherd Express The three brothers McWilliam couldn’t have bucked their calling if they tried. Since their first basement gig together at Mom and Dad’s, they’ve followed suit to a lineage of musically gifted family members, from their singer/pianist grandmother to their organist step-grandmother, to Uncle Kenan Kersten, whose vocal abilities earned him comparisons to Irish tenor John McCormick. Bombarded with an array of influences, each brother took to a different genre: bassist Thomas keen to acoustic roots, singer/guitarist John to hard rock and drummer Michael to more groovy electronica beats, playing more apart than together. When their paths joined again in 2000, they shucked their side projects to form a family business as a Milwaukee band, On a Sun. After five years of gigs in Chicago and Milwaukee, On A Sun now brandishes a swollen fan base and a reputation for no-frills intelligent rock. Their recently released debut full-length, Watershed, is strong in powerful guitar arrangements, introspective lyrics and unifying authentic vocals. The disc showcases the band’s range. Stubbornly holding to their individual tastes, the trio is a melting pot of musical styles, resulting in a diverse sound running the gamut from electric grunge to pop-driven melancholy rock. Thomas’ solid bass lines tangle with Michael’s complicated beats in each track, the dueling rhythms glued together with John’s visceral acoustic and plugged-in guitar riffs. Occasionally reminiscent of recent Gene of Ween or Isaac Brock but always original, John’s ever-changing voice, caught in permanent adolescence, switches from clean pop to smoky rock yell. Deftly varying tempo from soft meandering acoustic to brash, almost Metallica-esque hard rock in a single track, On A Sun proves brothers can play nicely together.