|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
    |
|
Listings are
in the opposite order of appearance: headliner is listed at the top,
next is the support band(s),
and the last band listed is the opener.
|
 
|
|
|
|
|
Tuesday
May 28 2013 9:00PM -- doors at 8:30PM ••• 21 AND OVER $10 in advance / $12 at the door Suuns suuns.bandcamp.com/ cold-wave post-punk from Montréal Wymond Miles www.facebook.com/WymondMiles of The Fresh & Onlys thefreshandonlys.blogspot.com/ alternative Foli foli.bandcamp.com/ soul folk indie Suuns It didn't take long for Montreal's Suuns to resurface with a second full length, Images Du Futur, and, as one would anticipate, this latest exploration takes on even greater visceral depths. At the outset it appears we're still ensconced in the warehouse, whether it's the grinding opening explosives of "Powers of Ten" or the crude, ominous rise-and-fall riffs in "2020." Broken up by Ben Shemie's melodious and angst-ridden murmurs, the industrial low-end throb presides early on, lulling us into thinking the band has picked up right where they left off with their debut LP, Zeroes QC. "Minor Work" builds steadily around a nostalgic, fuzz-infused beat and bares a soothing, contagious harmony. "Mirror Mirror" departs from the frenzied earlier pace, decelerating to a lethargic drawl; the droning, almost tedious undertones are paid off with flurries of synthesized flute that announce the dawn of the dreamscape ahead. We aren't to be disappointed. At this juncture it's clear that Suuns are a different beast now. They're tighter, slicker, and even more calculating in their approach. It's no surprise after more than a year of touring North America and three trips overseas. "Images Du Futur started as some jams written (during that time), some of which appeared live towards the end of our Zeroes QC tours," says Shemie. In 2012 they returned to the jam space. Set against the backdrop of the student manifestations, they built on their new songs and started writing and rehearsing a bank of new ones in January. "The climate was one of excitement, hope and frustration, and we found ourselves lucky to be in Montreal at the time, and not on the road," adds Shemie. "We were trying to look at our music from further and further away, seeing more details in the picture as we expanded the landscape." The opening lyrics sum up that mood: "Got it together, I read in the paper, all of these strangers, stranger and stranger... No, no, no, no, how you try and remember, how all of these pieces, all fit together." Suuns took to the studio in May, and again in September, with Breakglass producer Jace Lasek. The end result is a profound sense of poise, not only from their sound, but in their creative vision. They've been praised in the past for their compelling restraint, their ability to morph the sonic mood within a song, and this type of shape-shifting is taken to new dimensions in the slick, opiate-laden swells of "Edie's Dream." It has a fetching swagger, a dream-state motion that unifies the album and offers a soothing interlude to the harder edges sculpted earlier on. Whether Images Du Futur is fueled by the long hours on the road or the pulse of Montreal's social uprisings, it still boasts the typical Suuns-wrought iron, expanding even further on the deep-house-Detroit textures, electronic plunges and layered guitar squalls. The upbeat drums and chants of "Sunspot" are initially reminiscent of earlier call-to-arms anthems, but then venture into spare repetition and temporary collisions of pedals and fuzz. The album's title track (a name inspired by the technological expositions in Montreal between 1986 and '96) is a shoegaze foray of abstract effects that betrays the band's indelible patience and winds the mood down to a drowsy standstill. It's the perfect lead-in for the subsequent plodding beats that gradually accelerate into a rhythm; the final ditty culminates in another wistful guitar riff, backed by a haunting, derisive laugh track, with Shemie crooning, "Your music won't save you." Or will it? Up Past The Nursery EP features the menacing, but still sexy, single from Suuns' 2010 Secretly Canadian debut, as well as the non-album cut, "Hard Know," which builds from slo-core organ grind to a guitar assault on par with My Bloody Valentine. Wymond Miles Four years ago Wymond Miles, lead guitar player in San Francisco’s The Fresh & Onlys, began writing solo material thematically based on the concepts of eschatology, anthroposophy, and Gnostic and Hermetic symbolism. Drawing from a vast musical pool of inspiration, including Scott Walker, Robert Wyatt, Arvo Part, and Nikki Sudden amongst others, Earth Has Doors is Miles’ first solo release. Since beginning Miles had basically shelved these songs to attend school, focus on fatherhood, and commit to the demanding schedule of the F&O’s. He earned a degree in humanities with an emphasis on the philosophical implications of the ecological/economic crisis of our times, and that subject matter can be traced throughout his first EP. These songs concisely yet esoterically document the existential crisis of our current epoch — moving from the nothingness of modern materialism, fragmented reductionist thought, and drug escapism to a world imbued with subjectivity and meaning through a new relationship with the Earth and cosmos as alive and full of inherent intelligence. Wymond describes his early writing process: “For the first time I had a sense of place, and a reverence of humility for my surroundings. I was full of wonder, but I felt very small, and went inward to begin the work of writing.” He elaborates, “Sonically the mood had to reflect the somberness of moving between the existential chaos of my twenties into this new perspective of living … The mysterious hues of the soundscape reflect a sense of curiosity and possibility in the canyons of sound.” Working in his home studio and using 8-track tape (the infamous Tascam 388), Miles performs almost everything on this record: guitars, synths, bass, drums, manipulated tape delay, and vocals. A few friends played with him, guesting on drums (“Hidden Things” and “Earth Has Doors”) and viola (“As the Orchard”), while his wife Sarah sings some harmonies on side A. Foli A continually evolving project by Ben McClintock - |
 |