The Secretly Canadian Newsletter

Suuns are pleased to announce their new album, Felt, coming out March 2nd on Secretly Canadian. Singer/guitarist Ben Shemie says, “This record is definitely looser than our last one [2016’s Hold/Still]. It’s not as clinical. There’s more swagger.” You can hear this freedom flowing through the 11 tracks on Felt. It’s both a continuation and rebirth, the Montreal quartet returning to beloved local facility Breakglass Studios (where they cut their first two albums [Zeroes QC and Images Du Futur] with Jace Lasek of The Besnard Lakes) but this time recording themselves at their own pace, over five fertile sessions spanning several months. A simultaneous stretching out and honing in, mixed to audiophile perfection by St. Vincent producer John Congleton (helmer of Hold/Still), who flew up especially from Dallas to deploy his award-winning skills in situ.

Pre-order Felt
suuns.lnk.to/felt

Felt lead single “Watch You, Watch Me” debuts today via NPR Music in the form of a Ruff Murphy-directed video. The song showcases an organic/synthetic rush that builds and builds atop drummer Liam O’Neill‘s elevatory rhythm. O’Neill exclaims, “It was different and exciting. In the past, there was a more concerted effort on my part to drum in a controlled and genre-specific way. Self-consciously approaching things stylistically. Us doing it ourselves, that process was like a very receptive, limitless workshop to just try out ideas.”

Suuns are proud of their roots in Canada’s most socialist province, whilst not sounding quite like anything else the city has produced. Quebecois natives Shemie and Joseph Yarmush founded the group just over a decade ago, the latter having moved to Montreal from a nearby village. The only member not to be formally schooled in jazz, guitarist Yarmush studied photography and utilized his visual training to help realize Shemie’s novel concept for the eye-catching album artwork.

“I was at a barbecue last summer and there were balloons everywhere,” recalls the singer. “I like this idea of pressure, resistance, and pushing against something just before it brakes. And there is something strangely subversive about a finger pushing into a balloon. It seemed to fit the vibe of the record we were making. We made plaster casts of our hands, going for a non-denominational statue vibe. Joe came up with the colour scheme, the sickly green background, and shot the whole cover in an hour.”

It’s a suitably outre image for Felt, which breaks with Suuns’ earlier darkness for a more optimistic ambience. The record’s playful atmosphere is echoed by its double meaning title. “Some people might think of the material,” muses Shemie. “I like that that could be misconstrued. Also it’s to have felt and not to feel a little introspective, but that feeling’s in the past.”

Felt Tracklist:
1. Look No Further
2. X-ALT
3. Watch You, Watch Me
4. Baseline
5. After the Fall
6. Control
6. Make It Real
8. Daydream
9. Peace and Love
10. Moonbeams
11. Materials

Suuns Tour Dates:
Fri. Feb. 9 – St-Casimir, Canada @ La Taverne
Sat. Feb. 10 – Sherbrooke, Canada @ La Petite Boite Noire
Fri. Feb. 16 – Trois-Rivieres, Canada @ Le Zenob
Sat. Feb. 17 – Gatineau, Canada @ Le Minotaure
Wed. Mar. 7 – St-Hyacinthe, Canada @ Le Zaricot
Fri. Mar. 9 – Montreal, Canada @ Le National
Sat. Mar. 10 – Quebec City, Canada @ La Source de la Martiniere
Thu. Mar. 15 – Toronto, Canada @ Great Hall
Sun. Mar. 25 – Knoxville, Tennessee @ BIG EARS FESTIVAL
Thu. Mar. 29 – Rome, Italy @ Monk Club
Fri. Mar. 30 – Milan, Italy @ Magnolia
Sat. Mar. 31 – Winterthur, Switzerland @ Salzhaus
Sun. Apr. 1 – Marseille, France @ Espace Julien
Tue. Apr. 3 – Saint-Malo, France @ Nouvelle Vague
Wed. Apr. 4 – Paris, France @ Elysee Montmarte
Thu. Apr. 5 – London, United Kingdom @ Scala
Fri. Apr. 6 – Brussels, Belgium @ Le Botanique
Sat. Apr. 7 – The Hague, Netherlands @ Rewire Festival
Sun. Apr. 8 – Koln, Germany @ Gebaude 9
Mon. Apr. 9 – Hamburg, Germany @ Molotow Musikclub
Tue. Apr. 10 – Berlin, Germany @ Festsaal Kreuzberg
Wed. Apr. 11 – Istanbul, Turkey @ Babylon

Other Recent News

05/16/2023

ANOHNI Announces ‘My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross’; A New Album By ANOHNI And The Johnsons

Pre-Order 'My Back Was A Bridge For You To Cross' Now

04/28/2023

Baby Rose Releases Highly Anticipated Album, ‘Through and Through’

New album 'Through and Through' out now

04/06/2023

Porridge Radio Share New Video For “7 Seconds” And Announce 7″ For Record Store Day

New music video & 7" for "7 Seconds" out now

03/24/2023

Eaves Wilder Releases Debut EP, “Hookey”

New EP "Hookey" out now

Videos