Suuns – Felt
The Canadian band’s fourth effort showcases the continuing maturation of their sound
Felt is Suuns’ fourth album, and first since 2016's Hold/Still but it relates more closely to their 2015 collaborative effort with Jerusalem in My Heart in that it's built around synths far more prominently than guitar, and forgoes crunching riffs and breakdowns in favour of beats and drum-breaks. Overall though, it's subdued and low-key in comparison to their earlier work.
The album opens with discordant electronic wobbles, fuzzy lo-fi drums and cryptic lyrics on Look No Further, setting an uneasy tone. X-ALT follows, its pounding techno beat rendered somehow muffled, as if it's playing in the next room. Heavy vocoder on the vocals and a saxophone breakdown create a paranoid, frenetic energy. The album largely follows the formula laid down by these two tracks, playing with vocoders, motorik drums and synth sounds at will. Among all this, the relatively conventional Peace and Love is a highlight, with its melancholy groove and free-jazz interlude.
Felt feels slightly repetitive and overlong, but is an interesting and worthwhile effort from a band whose sound continues to mature and improve.
Listen to: X-ALT, Watch You, Watch Me, Peace and Love