The good thing about this record is that Suuns have streamlined their sense of space and their inherently tough sound with a feeling of dynamics, with knowledge that less is more; that balancing a set of good tricks is better than going through a whole gamut of clever phrases and poses.
The good thing about this record is that Suuns have streamlined their sense of space and their inherently tough sound with a feeling of dynamics, with knowledge that less is more; that balancing a set of good tricks is better than going through a whole gamut of clever phrases and poses.
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Boy don’t Suuns sound like Clinic at their most morose? Afraid I can’t avoid saying that. It’s damned obvious in the plodding beat and high register vocals in the opening two tracks, Powers of Ten and 2020. Still, caustic critic japery aside; this is a fine record, immeasurably more accomplished than their earlier release, Zeroes QC, which at times tried to be too clever for its own good –too much up its own arse, too many moments of “look how good we are”… well I grumpily thought so anyway. No, this new one, Images Du Futur is a groovy record; it hangs about in the house, knowing it’s too cool for school, showing menace and a fair bit of supine malevolence. Check out the drawling and growling in Holocene City. The menace isn’t quiet of the Gabriel Ernest variety but it’s moody enough.
The good thing about this record is that Suuns have streamlined their sense of space and their inherently tough sound with a feeling of dynamics, with knowledge that less is more; that balancing a set of good tricks is better than going through a whole gamut of clever phrases and poses. It’s a sharper, more cunning record: take, for instance, the wobbly synth on 2020, it’s used sparingly but openly and is therefore which is able to propel this slightly abstract dance track that comes on like PiL at moments. You can say the same about the rumbling bass line in Sunspot – which is set against some bleeps and squawks from the guitar. Nothing much else happens but it’s enough to build up an atmosphere for what happens later in the track. There’s something to hang on the beat and laconic vocals, the great chord change – on the veritable sixpence – in Minor Work (and in Sunspot for that matter too); the nods to Barrett’s Floyd in the synth part that leads Minor Work off the stage. It’s all smart stuff, but never promoted as such. It’s as if they’re interested in making music not statements.
There are some good rock outs – the best thing about Zeroes QC for me was when the band tried their glam stomp out, and in Mirror Mirror we get that, a mean beat and some woozy synth sounds cement a pretty rocking prospect. Nice and sleazy indeed. And they’re quite a bunch of retronauts too. Their 60’s Psyche side is all to hear on Edie’s Dream, whereas the dreamily psychotic Bambi which somehow welds Damo-style musings onto a thumping dance track. The title track starts to wander off into psych/kosmische territory, tipping its titfer to Edgar Froese maybe, and last up we get some sort of subterranean synth battle that brings Suicide to mind. It’s boss.
A fine record and I didn’t think I’d enjoy this but I do: I enjoy it a fair bit, must say.