“All right people, now is the time. This is Flight Director Penfold speaking. I need a go/no-go for launch when I call your area of responsibility. (Meaningful Pause) OK, Booster?”
“Go.”
“Control?”
“Go.”
“Electrical?”
“Go.”
“Guidance?”
“Go.”
“Telemetry?”
“Go.”
“Communi…wait…stop! Astronauts, this is Director Penfold, what are you doing?!?”
I was greeted with six responses at once, one from each member of the band Suns who made up my astronaut crew, all boiling down to “nothing”.
“How did you manage to get instruments into the shuttle?”
This time all six remained silent.
“Do I need to explain again the seriousness of this mission? It is the mission you signed up for, is it not?”
Responses included “yes”, “yeah”, “maybe”, “yes, sir”, and “think so”.
“Good. Now I’m going to send up a launch pad technician to open the shuttle door and collect your instruments. Seriously, how did you manage to get a drum set in there without anyone knowing, and how can you manage to play guitars with those thick astronaut gloves encapsulating your hands? Alright, we’ve only lost a minute or too with this distraction. We should almost launch on schedu…astronauts?!?! Did one of you just hit the launch abort button? Again?”
Dead air greets me on the radio channel, and the video feed appears to show the astronauts/band members looking from one to another, and then after apparently coming to a silent agreement once again beginning to play their instruments. I tore the boom microphone I used to communicate with the shuttle off of my head and threw it on the ground.
“That’s it! I’ve had it! I told NASA that combining the arts and sciences in this manner was a bad idea! But no one wanted to listen to me. I quit!”
Feeling introspective? Excellent! I’ve got some music you need to listen to right this minute. Suns is an experimental/indie band with keen musical sensibilities that are sure to titillate individuals seeking new rabbit holes to explore. For the most part I don’t agree with the indie label being applied to this band, as I find that most every song simply has too much meat, too much latent power that makes regular appearances behind the vocals. No, Suns will never be confused for a hard rock or metal act (although they do have two drummers similar to The Melvins), but there is undeniable musical weight being hoisted upon the listener on a regular basis.
Interestingly the production relates directly with the EPs title, or perhaps it’s the other way around. The sound of the instrumentation is crystal clear, but I get the feeling that there was a filter of some kind laid over top of the music in order to make it seem somewhat ethereal, somewhat distant. Often when I’m listening I make believe that I am in fact receiving an excellent feed of the band playing from orbit. The vocals on the other hand are right up front in the mix, thus making them very powerful and potent. To give you waveriders an idea of what to expect, the lead vocalist reminds me very much of Neil Young. His voice is considerably more versatile, but the way he conveys his words and phrases is very similar, almost conversational.
The song structures are also seemingly tied into the EP title. “Little Horn” is a bouncy number designed to prepare the listener for launch with alternatively spacey vocals and big powerful choruses. “You Are On” picks the tempo up for lift-off shortly after it begins. “Small Parts of Something Much Larger” reels the tempo back in slightly as the band sets to work after achieving orbit, and “Bright Lights” highlights the dreamlike state the band must be in while completing their mundane tasks. The closing track “Don’t Do It” drastically shifts gears with the band producing an ominous soundscape to go along with some tortured, anguished vocals. This song sounds exactly like astronauts who don’t wish to return to Earth, but know it must be done. All together, five great songs.
This concludes the first half of this write up. Continue reading to find out what else this band has up their sleeves.
Suns - The Howl and the Many
It was nighttime, and everything was illuminated under a full moon. I had just finished pushing a medium sized dresser up against the cabin door in a last ditch effort to barricade it from the inside when the first loud thump of hardened flesh meeting wood rang out. The sound was quickly followed by a guttural howl that was shortly answered by a few others. The beasts were out there, and they wanted inside. It was time to take inventory.
I was in a medium sized, newly fortified cabin in the woods with the six members of the band Suns. Between us there were two pistols, a shotgun, a few rounds of ammunition, and three knives. Inside the cabin we had found a fully stocked kitchen, but not much else. For reasons beyond my comprehension our current dire straits had seemingly ignited the songwriting passion in the members of the band, and all of them were huddled together playing their instruments and sharing ideas.
The second Suns EP, entitled The Howl and the Many, differs in a few important ways from the previous EP. Remember that filtered sound I referred to before? It’s been thrown away in favor of a more organic, crisp sound that evokes sensations of warmth and liveliness. Also all four songs (including the ballad “Gladys”) on this EP have a more rocking edge to them, especially when it comes to the drumming. It feels like the drummers were given free reign to let loose and propel the band forward with greater force. Finally, the four songs on The Howl produce feelings of happiness and contentment with far more regularity than the songs from Close Calls. I can’t really pinpoint exactly why this occurs, but it is true.
The bottom line here is that if you are someone like me who occasionally needs a break from heavier music, but still demand music that can be very emotive, Suns is ready to accommodate your needs. These songs will whisk you away from your worries and cares for just under forty minutes, taking you on a compelling journey full of interesting roadside attractions. Have I mentioned that both of these EPs are being offered to the public at no cost? Yes, that’s right, they are both free to download. Basically, there is no reason why you should not check this band out if what I have said seems interesting. Getting back to my present situation though, I think I overheard some disturbing talk coming from the guys.
“I wish there was an army of vampires to fight off these werewolves.” I don’t know who said this, but I knew I had to stop this wishful thinking immediately.
“Hey, get your head out of your nether-regions! We’re talking about werewolves outside trying to kill us, not some fantasy creature that only exists in stories! I don’t know about you guys, but I want to make it out of this cabin alive. Now for the love of all that is good put down those instruments and start melting down that silverware! We can use the material to make silver bullets.”
--Penfold
P.S.: Does anyone else think that the covers for the two EPs should be switched? I think the band is playing a little joke on us, the good listeners.
Download music: http://www.sunsband.com/download/
is an intimate journey into Keita’s personal struggles. Singing a hymn of universal tolerance Keita poetically claims, "some of us are black, some are white/all that difference has a purpose…for us to complete each other/let everyone receive love and dignity/the world will be a more beautiful place.”