'Fiction' Review: Neo-psychedelia group Suuns' latest EP is a trippy and phantasmagoric musical journey
Neo-psychedelia rock outfit Suuns are back with a more cryptic project than ever before. Suuns are set to drop their latest EP 'Fiction' on Friday, October 30, which follows two years after their latest studio album 'Felt'.
Suuns is a Canadian band from Montreal whose music is a refreshing take on rock with a blend of Krautrock, neo-psychedelia, and art-punk. The group was formed in 2007 when Ben Shemie (vocalist/guitarist) and Joe Yarmush (guitarist/bassist) teamed up to make some beats which quickly evolved into a handful of songs. The Suuns line-up was then complete soon after when the duo were joined by drummer Liam O'Neill and bassist/keyboardist Max Henry, and it wasn't until 2010 that the band landed its first recording deal with Secretly Canadian.
Under their label, the band has gone on to release a total of four studio albums, namely 'Zeroes QC' (2010 debut), 'Images Du Futur' (2013), 'Hold/Still' (2016) and their latest, 2018's 'Felt'. Additionally, the group has one collaborative album with Jerusalem in My Heart, aptly titled 'Suuns and Jerusalem in My Heart' which arrived in 2015.
For their new six-track EP, Suuns have tapped in Jerusalem in My Heart once again for a collaboration titled 'Breathe', as well as Amber Webber (Black Mountain, Lightning Dust, Pink Mountaintops) on the track 'Death'.
Hitting play on the EP's opener, 'Look', it's clear that Suuns have gone darker with their music, twisting, bending notes, and haunting to an extent that feels hypnotic. Eery vocals hum over ambient and jittering synth between scratching effects perfect for the score of a horror film or as a dark lord's meditation. The following track 'Breathe' with Jerusalem in My Heart transmit energies more ethnic. A fluttered beat pulsates from start to end as Arabic-sounding guitars evoke an inner primitive instinct in the listeners' psyche.
The EP then begins to unravel into more rock sounds. Move on to 'Pray', and we hear resonances of Radiohead's eerier numbers. A softened, cybernetic-tipped synth with specter-like vocals intro the song before swelling into a thickened electronic beat with a gritty bassline and industrial layers are sewn in every few bars.
The EP's title track showcases the band's loved psychedelic sounds. Unlike the previous aforementioned songs, the self-titled 'Fiction' has more extensive and melodic vocals, yet Shemie's voice plays out like a warped additional instrument as opposed to common vocals that let their lyrics tell a story. With 'Fiction', Suuns want you more emotive than deciphering hidden lyrical meanings.
The second collaborative track, 'Death' featuring Amber Webber feels more oceanic with waves of synth tiding over its listeners. The scratching effects tone the sounds of digital crashing waves and Webber's vocals resonate with the sounds of a siren's enchantment. It's bizarre and creepily beautiful.
If you're a fan of phantasmagoric, trippy, outlandish, or psychedelic music, Suuns' new EP is one not to miss and comes highly recommended.