Suuns
The Kazimier, Liverpool | May 17th
For those prescribed to fictional depictions of an Orwellian dystopian future, Montreal based Suuns’ sophomore LP Images Du Futur did little to dispel these unlikely preconceived revelations of societal unrest.
“The music won’t save you” is the refrained forewarning. It’s as ostentatiously sinister as the peak of a Batman villain’s monologue, but when murmured by Suuns’ mirthless frontman Ben Shermie – with the blood curdling malevolence of the corridor lurching Nosferatu – it’s enunciated with such dread that it feels like tonight could well be the beginning of the end good and proper. That’s not to say this quartet’s foresight should be taken as gospel, but Suuns perform as if the rapture is imminent. Beneath a canopy of discotheque paraphernalia they reside, in the midst of the palpable eeriness of the Kazimier and in typically un-human form, they thrash through swathes of cuts from the aforementioned Images Du Futur complemented with garnishes of 2011’s Zeroes QC.
Shermie’s abrasive, chewed up syllables are characterised by a form gender confused androgyny, and perhaps it’s the menacingly danceable 2020 that’s the hallmark of this cerebral dance for the voyeuristic. It’s disarming to witness a group that’s both discordant and in harmony with the sum of their parts, whether it’s the staccato guitar lines administered by Joe Yarmush for Bambi, or the tightly syncopated rhythmic beats supplied by Liam O’Neil for Edie’s Dream; everyone pulls their weight in the engine room while Shermie is the deranged protagonist of the WTF, no-holds-barred wig-outs. However, reciprocal wig-outs of a similar nature from crowd members are no-less unerring. All the while the mercurial Shermie remains impassable and vacant with the only punctuation in an otherwise marauding set being a few brief pit stops for a round of muted and awe struck-applause. When you portray a Futur this bleak, perhaps the music is the only saviour, because after all, there’s no time like the present.
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Words: Joshua Nevett
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