ALBUM REVIEW: Sumac. "Love In Shadow"

By: Charlie Butler

Album Type: Full Length

Date Released: 21/09/2018

Label: Thrill Jockey Records

With “Love In Shadow” Sumac take further giant steps into the heavy unknown with glorious results. No-one else comes close to achieving the balance of razor-sharp precision and intoxicating chaos on display here which edges the band closer to being the finest project in these incredible musicians’ illustrious careers.

“Love In Shadow” CD//DD//2LP track listing:

1). The Task

2). Attis’ Blade

3). Arcing Silver

4). Ecstasy of Unbecoming

The Review:   

The dust has barely settled from the sensory overload of Sumac’s intense improv blow-out with Keiji Haino earlier in 2018. Now the fearsome trio are back with their third proper full-length “Love In Shadow”. 

This is a dense and initially daunting record. Comprised of four mind-boggling complex tracks, ranging from the relatively brisk twelve minutes of “Arcing Silver” to the massive opening statement of “The Task” which slowly unfurls over twenty-two hypnotic minutes, “Love In Shadow” is not an easy ride but hugely rewarding. Every listen reveals new details of these mammoth compositions and it is easy to imagine more coming to light countless spins down the line.

“The Task” immediately finds Sumacin full flow, negotiating a tumbling noise rock landscape, crushingly heavy with a coarse serrated edge. The track evolves reverse to expectations, beginning with a clanging cacophony then slowly getting quieter and quieter until it reaches its conclusion. This makes for an intriguing journey and finds the band breaking exciting new sonic ground. As the volume and complexity dwindles, the music becomes more captivating as it moves into a sparse one note dirge, led first by Aaron Turner’s crackling guitar then by Brian Cook’s seismic bass. This acts as a backdrop for Turner to take an extended, improvised clean solo that has a disorientating jazz feel reminiscent of the weirder moments of their collaboration with Haino. This is the first instance of Sumacallowing their growing power as an improvisational force come to the fore on “Love In Shadow” to great effect. Just when you think “The Task” has nothing left to give, it moves into a haunting end section comprised of just keyboards and Turner’s lone wounded bark. It is the most affecting moment on the record and brings to mind Harvey Milk at their bleakest.

“Attis’ Blade” kicks off in classic Sumacfashion with Turner clanging out a driving one chord attack that sets the tone for a pummelling rhythm section accompaniment. The band’s focused onslaught is interrupted by a shift into a passage of electrifying free-form molten improvisation. Throughout all of their albums to date, the superhumanly tight musicianship of Sumacas they navigate labyrinthine riff constructions has been almost terrifying to behold. This is still evident throughout “Love In Shadow” but it is the uncanny almost telepathic connection between these three players as they destroy conventional forms that yields the records highlights. Nick Yacyshyn somehow manages to lay down rhythms that work as a solid foundation for Aaron Turner’s wild unhinged guitar outbursts while simultaneously shifting and lurching to their own unpredictable tempo. Brian Cook operates in the middle ground between these two mighty forces, relishing the freedom to lay down a thick layer of restless low-end carnage. The track shifts back into a menacing noise rock grind as it winds its way to its conclusion, all the more effective in contrast to the roiling din from which it was born.

Cook’s relentless one note riff jerks “Arcing Silver” into life, an uneasy, menacing groove that somehow manages to keep building up tension throughout the majority of its duration. When it finally breaks into furious blastbeats and feral roars at its climax, the effect is exhilarating. This demonstrates Sumac’s ability to judge when it is best to take a direct, bludgeoning path rather than opt for the more torturous route. Another example of this is in “Ecstasy of Unbecoming” when Turner’s searing solo fretboard meltdown is mowed down by the band ripping into their approximation of driving dumb punk rock. 

With “Love In Shadow” Sumactake further giant steps into the heavy unknown with glorious results. No-one else comes close to achieving the balance of razor-sharp precision and intoxicating chaos on display here which edges the band closer to being the finest project in these incredible musicians’ illustrious careers. 

“Love In Shadow” is available here

Band info: bandcamp || facebook