San Francisco – “What?” That was the word being shouted from virtually everyone leaving San Francisco’s Bottom of the Hill on Tuesday night, with futile attempts at conversation over the resounding din of blossoming tinnitus. Earplugs were a necessary accessory that night, as Canada’s SUUNS blasted drone-heavy, electro-stained post rock through the eardrums and straight down to the bones of the crowd gathered at the cozy Potrero Hill institution.
SUUNS is a four-piece out of Montreal, formed in 2007, currently celebrating the release of its third full-length LP Hold/Still, which hit shelves back in April (the band’s debut Zeroes QC emerged in 2010, which was followed three years later with sophomore effort Images Du Futur). After a dynamite opening set from local act Naytronix (featuring Merrill Garbus’ tUnE-yArDs counterpart Nate Brenner), the four guys in SUUNS crammed themselves and all of their gear onto the tiny stage, drenched in blood red light. The whole thing seemed rather eerie, almost like we were all about fall prey to a sudden eruption of pyrokinesis. But then, the music began: churning and slow at first, before evolving into a veritable wall of noise that lurched forward without warning. Despite the compact nature of the setting, SUUNS’ sound was anything but.
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly what genre(s) SUUNS falls under, as the band’s style is deeply nuanced, yet at the same time it is vigorously concrete and cohesive. Much of the band’s arrangement is repetitive in nature, which works well with vocalist Ben Shemie’s fuzzy, somewhat incoherent lyrics and the bursts of colorful, slicing electronics provided by keyboardist Max Henry. Joseph Yarmush, who serves as both guitarist and bassist, barely showed his face throughout the show, as it was obscured by his mane of long brown hair, as he rocked forward and backward, while drummer Liam O’Neill pounded away behind them all. The guys kicked things off with a lengthy buzzing version of the final track from Hold/Still, “Infinity,” following up with the album’s second and equally vibratory “Instrument.” Things started to energize with the demented sonic carnival that is “Translate” and the wailing tantrum of Images Du Futur single “2020.” SUUNS’ performance of “2020” was so good that in my notes I simply wrote, “AWESOME SONG!!! BEEEEEEEYYYYUUUUUU!!!” (I didn’t know the song’s title at the time).
The band’s set was relatively short — eleven songs spanning just over an hour — but the foursome did a remarkable job filling the time given with a nonstop barrage of deep bass and piercing magnitude. While the focus of the evening was on newer material from Hold/Still — including the robotic lunacy of “Resistance,” the slow-burning “Paralyzer,” and the somewhat out of place “Brainwash”— SUUNS also had enough time to sneak in a couple of older favorites from both previous LPs. “Sunspot” and the trip-hoppy “Edie’s Dream” were featured from Images Du Futur, while the rippling synths and thrashing percussion of “Arena” and the spellbinding precision of set closer “Pie IX” were lifted from the band’s debut LP. Each time SUUNS began a song, the air around each member began to vibrate, as if the molecules were being torn apart and reassembled, much like the songs themselves that found new life on the stage. Compared to the studio versions of each song, the live performances were much louder, more robust and throbbing with newfound vitality. Each note that was played was like a star going nova, strung together with meticulous rhythm and textural patterns of sound, leaving little-to-no space for dark matter-like silence.
Bottom of the Hill is a venue that emanates intimacy and a no-frills, no-holds-barred live music experience. Though the polarizing red gels on the lights were somewhat distracting and the booming bass was almost uncomfortable (that is, until I discovered the 50¢ earplugs being sold at the bar), the snug venue served as a suitable home for SUUNS’ powerful sound. The band made the most of limited space onstage, offering little to no movement, plowing through its material, save for the somewhat suggestive nature in which Shemie handled his microphone. But the music was so engrossing that movements didn’t matter; it was our movement the band was concerned with, as the audience was caught under the hypnotic nature of the sound, coaxing our limbs and heads to sway. While our bodies moved freely, our faces stayed basically the same: an unmoving grin that only comes from being in the presence of powerful live music. Plus, if we changed our expressions too drastically, the earplugs would come loose, and I’m not about to abandon my need to protect my ears — perhaps my greatest asset — as I want to make sure I have the ability to experience music like this for many years to come!
SUUNS is currently on tour for a few more dates in North America (Los Angeles, San Diego, and the Sled Island Festival in Calgary) before heading to Europe to play at several festivals in July and August. The band’s latest LP, Hold/Still, is now available via Secretly Canadian. For more information visit the SUUNS Facebook page.
Photography by Corey Bell for Best New Bands. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Corey Bell
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