Following an intriguing collaboration with Lebanese-Canadian experimental project
Jerusalem in My Heart, Montreal art rock quartet
Suuns ventured to Dallas to record their third proper full-length with producer
John Congleton, who is known for his work with artists such as
St. Vincent and
Swans. As with previous
Suuns recordings,
Hold/Still features minimal, hypnotic arrangements that are frequently blown out with distortion, but just as often feel spare and spacious. This time out, the group seems to have a bit more of an electronic sheen than on earlier efforts, but it still feels like there's a metronome-like human heart beating inside the machinery. The album's most exhilarating moments are the ones when they bounce from soft to alarmingly loud dynamics. "Brainwash" is the best example of this, as it begins with a minute of pretty guitar strokes and gentle singing before being crushed by a slow, heavy electronic beat reminiscent of the more abrasive moments on
PJ Harvey's
Is This Desire? Opening track "Fall" has an even more pulverizing rhythm, but it's introduced by tense, feedback-heavy guitar notes that serve as a somewhat fair warning. The group plays with listeners' expectations, pulling its songs sideways and taking them into curious directions. Even if some of the songs have spare, measured rhythms that seem easy enough to follow, the group will make the guitar notes spiral into strange directions or build the feedback up to hair-raising levels. The album's brief final track, "Infinity," pulls everything into focus with a revelatory moment of self-realization, beginning with the words "Now I see everything for what it is." ~ Paul Simpson