On Images Du Futur, Montreal’s Suuns use the umbrella of experimental psych-pop to deliver ten songs that all feel like a different take on the same genre. The tracks explore post-punk, psych-rock, experimental, and dub elements, shifting these ingredients from song to song to create a different take on the recipe with each cut.
“Powers of Ten” chaotically opens the record on a strong note with its abrasive guitars the rhythmic lyrical spurting of singer Ben Shemie. The track exudes cold, aggressive power through guitars that end up feeling like a strong northern wind. “2020,” the second single from the record is built on a low dub beat and sparse, crisp drums. Although clear, whining guitar notes descend in the front of the mix, there’s something about the song’s background sounds that taps into an almost subsonic space—you can feel the song as much as you can hear it.
Suuns moves from here into more pop-oriented terrain and stays there for most of the remaining tracks. It’s an interesting decision, which has an end result of the record starting off with it’s most cutting edge numbers, and never quite scratching that itch again, except for maybe closer “Music Won’t Save You.” On that track, a long minimal intro leads to airy vocals before the band introduces a laugh track. Yes, you read that right. The laughter serves as a loop between lines delivered by Shemie and works well as an experimental accent to the track.
Between these bookends, Suuns delivers a set of quality songs with high points such as the driving guitar and slack vocals of “Mirror Mirror” and the lean, straightforward pop of “Holocene City.” Meanwhile, “Edie’s Dream” is a minimalist, drowsy psych track that floats by just as the title would suggest. It’s slow groove will attract some and lull others. The title track is an austere, foreboding instrumental that feels like it could have come last, rather than just before the more thought provoking “Music Won’t Save You.”
On their second, Suuns prove themselves as adept musicians, capable of experimenting with multiple genres while creating a cohesive album. It still feels like they have room to grow and the futur may find them developing one of these avenues touched on in a more focused manner. Until then, we have a wide array of divergent but solid experimental pop songs.
