is now BY Matt J . Simmons following our nose . We keep adding things and then subtracting , subtracting , subtracting — we do a lot of that . I think a lot of journalists struggle with it , not to say that we ’ re blowing their minds so the y can ’ t understand it , but I guess people hear ing our m usic for the fir st time might find it a little disorienting .”
The latest record opens with Powers of Ten , an in-your-face jangly rocker with tense vocals . It then progresses into a couple of deeper , darker tunes with space y psychedelic sensibilities , before returning to tunes with more conventional song structures . “ This new album is , dare I sa y , more accessible ,” says O ’ Neill . “ It ’ s more like a mellow , cruising , druggy vibe .” He sa ys he thinks the band , without ever actually saying it out loud , worried a little that they might disappoint their fans by adapting and evolving away from Zeroes . “ But you can ’ t think lik e that ,” he continues . “ It ’ s like going to ea t and watching yourself in the mir ror and then adjusting y our facial expressions . It ’ ll never work like that , you ’ ll never enjoy your meal .”
Despite unspoken doubts , Suuns wrote an album that felt na tural and they finished recording Images du futur la te last fall . “ At that point I needed to take a few months off ,” O ’ Neill admits . “ You ’ re working on it so much and you have no idea ho w it sounds almost . You ’ ve heard it so many times and reworked it in so many different iterations , that it basically just sounds like a blast of white noise .” After a break , he came bac k to it and sa ys he ’ s happy with the results . “ I think we ’ ve achieved more of a consistent vibe and we ’ ve gone fur ther toward defining our sound .”
But now comes the hard part . They ’ re no longer getting “ new band a ttention ” and have to go out and pr ove themselves . Luckily , Suuns are most comfor table on stage . “ We consider ourselves a live band , kind of first and foremost , I ’ d say . Now , this is when the alb um truly starts — we ’ re about to star t touring . That ’ s when we do our thing , stretch our legs and the songs develop . That ’ s when we have the most fun .” [ sic ]
? LO : It ’ d have to be either David Mitchell ’ s number9dream or good old Brave New World .
Joseph Yarmush