When it comes to music, I’m no Kreskin. I’ve long since tired of making predictions about the next big thing as, to be honest, I’m never right. That being said, it doesn’t take a genius to realize that Montreal’s Suuns is about to explode.
Signing to a nice label, getting the thumbs up from super producer Jace Lasek and heading out on tour with two of Canada’s hottest indie bands – Land of Talk (which isn’t surprising I guess, since they share a member) and Polaris nominated Besnard Lakes – and most importantly, an EP of chilly, noisy, melodic shoegaze/electronica/dub that dominates you on first listen.
Suuns has had a rocky start – a legal issue on their original name (Zeroes) being the biggest – but now with a stable naming convention and label, people are going to flock to the dark, dirty electro anthems that can keep you moving on your chair or as part of the faceless mass in a club. Tracks like “Optimist” and “Disappearance Of The Skyscraper” spiral out of control as the distorted fuzz and infectious, but minimal beats take over, and “Nnnnnnn” uses patience and subtlety to create tension before riding a wave of cymbals, vocals and synths to the finish. That tension runs throughout the record as the band manages to constantly stride toward climax but never completely reaches that euphoric moment, and while that might be the painful equivalent of dating in junior high, musically it works perfectly.
The twenty-five minutes are laced with energy and while there are tons of touch points at play here, when a band has had to fight this hard to find a name to call there own it seems sort of childish to start dropping other ones into the mix. Instead, I’ll just say the Zeroes EP is a perfect precursor to the band’s upcoming full length and should help make sure people show up early when Land of Talk comes to town.
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MP3:: Suuns- Optimist
WEB:: http://www.myspace.com/suuns_