By: Charlie Butler
Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 10/06/2016
Label: Thrill Jockey
The fact is, this is a monolithic, multi-faceted, beast of an
album. Rigid Man” sees Sumac in familiar
territory, relentless riffs raining down on the listener like an armour plated
Shellac playing Isis’ “Celestial”. The
band weave seamlessly between periods of crushing heaviness, fragile calm,
hypnotic repetition and mind-bending mathematical chaos and overall “What One
Becomes” sees Sumac taking all of their previous achievements as a foundation
and building something even bigger in their own unique vision. This album sees
Sumac really find their voice and deserves to see them mentioned in the same
breath as their forbears.
“What One Becomes” CD//DD//LP track listing:
1).
Image of Control
2).
Rigid Man
3).
Clutch of Oblivion
4).
Blackout
5).
Will to Reach
The Review:
Just over a year has passed since the release of
Sumac’s stellar debut “The
Deal” and the trio are back already with an embarrassment of riches in the
form of “What One Becomes”.
Given the short gestation period of their new LP you would be forgiven for expecting a raw, back-to-basics
record. The fact that it is a monolithic, multi-faceted, beast of an album that
sounds like the product of years of craft is all the more impressive. It’s hard
to talk about the band without discussing the members’ incredible track records
- their times spent in the hugely influential likes of Isis, Old Man Gloom, Botch, These Arms Are Snakes
and Baptists all make a mark here.
“Image Of
Control” opens the album in difficult fashion, everyone flailing furiously
at their instruments to create a simmering cauldron of free noise. Even once
they settle into a more recognisable structure it isn’t an easy ride. This is
much more jagged and awkward then anything on “The Deal” yet still recognisable as Sumac and
completely compelling. There is more evident organic complexity to the music
here too, probably the product of this album being the first created by all
three members in collaboration.
“Rigid
Man” sees Sumac in more familiar territory, relentless
riffs raining down on the listener like an armour plated Shellac
playing Isis’ “Celestial”.
The moment when Aaron Tuner’s wrings searing notes from his guitar as Brian
Cook and Nick Yacyshyn lock into a tectonic plate-shifting groove is truly
transcendent. All three members are at the top of their game throughout, with
Yacyshyn’s furiously inventive drumming raising everything into a higher
dimension, particularly at the frantic climax of “Will To Reach”.
The full scope of Sumac’s expanded sonic palette
is best demonstrated during the 17 minute behemoth “Blackout”. The track covers a huge amount of stylistic and dynamic
ground during its mammoth duration, crafting a jaw-dropping progressive voyage
into the beyond. The band weave seamlessly between periods of crushing
heaviness, fragile calm, hypnotic repetition and mind-bending mathematical
chaos.
While “The
Deal” was a fine debut, it felt a little like a re-tread of former glories,
albeit in glorious style. “What One
Becomes” sees Sumac taking all of
their previous achievements as a foundation and building something even bigger
in their own unique vision. This album sees Sumac
really find their voice and deserves to see them mentioned in the same breath
as their forbears. At this rate I look forward to a paradigm-shifting triple LP
sometime in 2017.
“What
One Becomes” is available here
