By:
Aaron Pickford & Charlie Butler
Few
could argue that Aaron Turner has been one of the strongest advocates for the
promotion and composition of heavy music over the last 20 years. Musician,
artist and founder of the highly regarded Hydra Head Records, Turner has played a
pivotal role in the release of countless classic albums, but it seemed that
with the demise of the revered band ISIS (band),
perhaps Turner’s appetite for producing suffocating heaviness would end too.
Whilst
Tuner was far from inactive in music since ISIS (band), Turner would re-emerge on his
own terms alongside drummer Nick Yacyshyn with a new project and they set about
creating some of the heaviest music they had ever written, indeed over the
course of two albums, their debut “The Deal”
and 2016’s “What One Becomes” SUMAC's
music seamlessly weaves between periods
of crushing heaviness, fragile calm, hypnotic repetition and mind-bending
mathematical chaos, taking all of their previous achievements as a foundation and
building something even bigger in its own right.
SUMAC have indeed found their voice and with their following growing
exponentially, they returned to our shores for the second time in 12 months and
on April 26th in Leeds, my appetite to see them was impossible to
quantify.
Now
with a career spanning nearly 30 years, it was a view in some quarters that it
was somewhat of an injustice that San Francisco exepermentials Oxbow
would act as second fiddle to tonight’s headliner, however the band were
consummate pros tonight and their talent was clear to see, showcasing their
truly unique sound. Trying to categorise
their music, is the equivalent of putting a square peg through a round hole,
it’s like musical algebra, but impossible to quantify by way of rationale
mind. For me the commonalities of their
music is indicative of Nick Cave esque post punk circa The Birthday Party, songs laden
with staccato guitar and flagrant discordant keys, giving the listener a sense
of nausea, whilst front man Eugene Robinson in a typically rambunctious manner
spits out his laments, stalking the stage like a prowling cat. Given that Oxbow was entirely new to me, to
my ears their music evokes the quirkiness of The Butthole Surfers, whilst not
entirely draped in acid, the songs are of kilter , unconventional and the
antithesis of anti pop. This is a band who
don’t play by the rulebook indeed their din of exultant noise leaves you queasy
green like a 5 years first boat journey.
With a promise to return next time in under ten years, the final track
opens with layers of feedback like the swell of an ocean enveloping your senses,
guitars , bass, drums coming at you even more cacophonous than what has come
before it and their set is over and my anticipation for SUMAC has literally reached
fever pitch.
It
is hard to frame concerts without resorting to the clichéd response of “man it
was awesome”, in fact the use of a simple adjectives to describe an experience
cannot truly encapsulate that experience and yet here I am attempting to do
just that, however truth be told, words fail me for what I witnessed with SUMAC. Given the dense nature of their recorded
material, SUMAC
brilliantly translated their music from record to the live arena, shimmering between pummeling heaviness, and more free spirited jam movements. “Blackout”, “Rigid Man”, “Thorn in Lion’s
Paw”, “Image of Control” all were aired tonight, at times the music is as
subtle as a brick to the face, with the bass at times overriding the guitar,
but SUMAC are more than just a vessel of heaviness, live
there is a genuine symbiosis between Turner and Yacyshyn, so much so in fact
that if you didn’t know the songs, you could be forgiven for thinking they were
improvised jams, Turner flipping between dense riffs to master noise manipulator, allowing the feedback to ring out then we’re awash with psychedelic
passages, Turner producing a drumstick to tap the strings, Yacyshyn pulling off
impossible drum beats and at times giving the impression this is a man built at a cost of six million dollars, given his apparent bionic abilities. This was not perhaps a gig that everyone
would enjoy, yes at times you're banging your head , but live these
compositions are more about feel, dynamic shifts, the manipulation of sound and
for me it was an absolute pleasure to witness. It was a lesson in absolute power.
Band
info: Facebook
