(2020) SUSS - Promise


Review:
New York City-based quartet SUSS emerged in 2018 with Ghost Box, an ambient country record which seemed like a more rustic counterpart to Daniel Lanois’ work on Brian Eno’s Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks. The self-released album became somewhat of a runaway hit, and the Northern Spy label put out an expanded reissue later in the year, as well as its darker, more cinematic follow-up, 2019’s High Line. Third album Promise is perhaps their most nocturnal effort yet, tipping the balance a bit closer to space music while also having a sort of psychedelic undercurrent. Loops and light beats are sometimes present, but the music largely feels unbound by rhythm, free to luxuriate in wide-open spaces. Some tension is evident, though, as “No Man’s Land” features craggy violin and wheezing harmonium, and there’s an ominous feeling to the fuzz guitar-laden “Mission.” “Drift” sounds a bit closer to Robert Fripp playing lead guitar over a Spaghetti Western score, and “Winter Light” is lushly layered with guitars, swirling synths, and melodica. The gentle hi-hat ticking and pillowy steel guitars of “Nightlight” end the album on a tranquil note, peacefully floating toward the cosmos.





Track Listing:
1.Midnight 04:10
2.Drift 05:27
3.Home 05:37
4.No Man's Land 04:39
5.Mission 04:11
6.Echo Lake 04:33
7.Winter Light 05:56
8.Nightlight 06:06


Media Report:
Genre: ambient, americana
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits