The new 12-track album from the Kansas City band Suneaters launches with a big wall of guitar riffs on the track “Light” which teases along until it launches into a full-on rocker.
Throughout the track a succession of guitar solos and stops and starts mark the song.
That’s followed by the theatrical and fizzing track, “Cold N Wet,” which is a bit off-timing then we prefer. But it’s an intriguing track.
“Night” is a quieter, slower and dreamy track that is appropriately suited for the night hours and perhaps plays into the album title as well; repeating the line “it’ll be alright” followed by a desert rock-style guitar solo.
The grunge-influenced “Come Alone” is a bipolar track that rockets and rivets from slower, ambling rock to blistering Nirvana-like explosions.
“Unfinished,” at the album’s midpoint, is very much a progressive/alt. rock track that borders on the edge of experimental. It sounds a lot like its title – a bit unfinished.
That demo-loving number is followed by “Lit.” The majority of the song is not really impressive in any way that’s measurable other than it’s the longest track on the album.
Progressive rock consists of much more structure and form than silly theatrics at the end of a song. There’s no conceivable understanding why this track was included.
“Bubblegum” is a terrific comeback after the malaise of the middle chunk of the album and the same can be said as well for the fun and spirited weird-rock track, “Frogarrow,” complete with a spine-tickling guitar solo reminiscent of rock days of old when solos mattered.
It would have been preferable to the album’s flow if those two tracks, which are nicely paired, were higher up on tracklisting.
The album’s title track, which is slow-moving, unformed and lacking progression for much of its run time, is again theatrical, experimental anti-rock stoner rock. It has more potential if it were reworked and polished up.
The mood changes radically again on “Ninja Funeral,” which, like others, lacks cohesiveness or form.
Again there is some kick-ass guitar work, but the bass lines (which are almost non-existent; the mixing or whatever of the bass went terribly wrong) are distant and largely repetitious across the 12 tracks. The drumming is often hollow and lacking a punch which is what the drums are supposed to do so.
The album is mainly a collection of 12 mostly experimental anti-rock tracks – with progressive rock elements – that too often lack a consistent message, form or intrigue.
That’s not to say the album is a bust. There are some awesome tracks worthy of circulation, and which seem more like what the band’s sound might be instead of the other styles experimented with on the L.P.
There’s no question that the album is a good overall effort by Suneaters, but I really feel it would have been stronger with half of the tracks.
Much of the album sounds like free-form jamming and playing with LogicPro in a basement. A lot of people like that so obviously different people will have different opinions and preferences than my own.
We review free-form, lo-fi, recorded-raw music that we dig all of the time. Some times it’s great; other times it doesn’t connect.
There also needs to be more cohesiveness in the instruments’ alignment, mixing, and timing. That’s OK for lo-fi to a point.
A search online comes up with nothing that shows any organic results for the album. The band would definitely benefit from improving their own search results (which many musicians are not aware of).
For alt. rock, experimental and anti-rock fans, Arrive is a treat to indulge.
