Sullyman The Third “Condo Florida” LP

Indie music is having its day in court. Much like the film industry, merit is starting to inform the trend again, establishment recording houses finding themselves somewhat outsized by the rise of self-representing musical acts dominating the independent charts, algorithms, and dominating clicks as much as any Warner Bros. record or Geffen release back in the day. Part of what makes this so fun is the genuine inventiveness and zest for authentic, creative expression being back in the limelight. Plus, an emphasis on the actual singer-songwriter aspect of music-making again.

URL: https://www.sullymanthethird.com/

One particular band not disappointing on this front is the decidedly scrappy, acoustic, delightfully caustic Sullyman The Third. While not focusing on overly polished performance, what the band succeeds at is this genuine enthusiasm and sense of raw, male confessional quality. The kind that set music acts like Billy Joel and Bruce Springsteen apart, a rare ability to capture the pressures of the nine to five not serving as a reminder of the obvious, but a look closer moment bringing a wholesome artistic lens to the mundane.

The band performs with this same quality, their new album Condo Florida no disappointment. Everything about the tracks feels homegrown and legitimate, the group disinterested in the kind of glitzy, electronic and optical manipulations that used to drive the pressure. Part of this is because the band, including titular frontman John Sullivan also on piano, don’t make any secret of their reverence for musical acts relevant to the self-proclaimed ‘baby boomer’ crowd. They have a niche, they’re not embarrassed about it, and creating within that continuum are able to balance original artistic expression with unapologetic hooks and nods to acts like The Eagles in the seventies – a stated inspiration for the group.

Part of what’s also cool about Sullyman the Third is it being built entirely from the ground up. It’s clear the band is a labor of love for Sullivan in particular, who began songwriting as an escape from the pressures of fatherhood and Wall Street in 1993. Thirty-three years later, and with strong independent album releases like Condo Florida, the group shows no signs of slowing down. Sullivan now seems to have the room to create with impunity, and with that won’t be dictated by trends, patterns, or pressure from musical peers. You get the sense listening to each of the tracks on the record Sullivan and co. really are in their element. The record feels tight, cohesive, and rarely wavers in terms of having a strong sense of focus.

On the group’s website, their bio reads: “Sullyman The Third (ST3) is an American indie rock band from Garden City, New York, founded in 2018 by singer/songwriter/pianist John Sullivan as a solo act and expanded into a quartet in 2021. The lineup includes Sullivan, drummer Steve Glover, bassist Gregg Steele, and guitarist George Kurth. After releasing 12 singles in 2021, ST3 followed with The Reset of Our Earth, Vol. 1 in 2022 and Vol. 2 in 2023, completed the soundtrack for Chat ST3 Ring Circus in 2024, and released Condo Florida in 2026. The band has also released three award-winning short film music comedies, with Sullivan directing and ST3 serving as the main cast: Bad Steps to Rock Stardom (2022), A Note About Greed (2023), and Chat ST3 Ring Circus (2024), all available on YouTube.”

Mark Druery