Suicide Squeeze
It sounds a bit odd to praise a band for adding a guitarist but God damn Nü Sensae sure benefits from it. I’ve liked the band’s records in the past but really the pairing of bass and drums isn’t exactly the most dynamic approach a band can take. The Vancouver noise-punk duo certainly did well with it for a while but I couldn’t help feeling that TV Death and the Devil was a dead end — aggression loses its effect when your band only has two modes.
Sundowning then: with the piercing guitar of ex-Mutators member Brody McKnight in the fray the now-trio Nü Sensae sounds reinvigorated. Andrea Lukic’s seething banshee wail is given more room to haunt and threaten (on “Orange Roses” it’s like she’s going to jump out of her own skin) Daniel Pitout’s manic drumming has even more clatter to contend with and McKnight’s guitar lines take the band’s songs into a refreshing assortment of directions. The overall effect is actually quite grungy but without the ugly murk that makes ’90s AmRep records sound so horribly dated — Sundowning is sharp gritty and livid. Better yet it maintains its punk rock drive without becoming static and the band’s quieter moments no longer feel obligatory or staid. There are even actual melodies on here! I’m glad Nü Sensae took the effort to avoid repeating themselves because Sundowning is one hell of a volatile record.
<a href="http://suicidesqueeze.bandcamp.com/album/sundowning" mce_href="http://suicidesqueeze.bandcamp.com/album/sundowning">Sundowning by Nü Sensae</a>
