Suumhow – Secuund
Suumhow are an IDM act from my adopted Belgium though it took specialist Californian imprint n5MD to bring them to my attention. Secuund is the sophomore album from the duo. This album, the follow-up to last year’s debut offering, Crash_Reports, intensifies the pairs trademark glitches and crunchy beats. This is nowhere more evident than on opening cut ‘Muuscl’, an aggressive assault on the senses that make you question the robustness of your speaker cables.
Yet it isn’t all Brainiac material on Secuund. This is n5MD after all, the home of the feels for IDM artists and fans alike. The Beglians get in on the act with central trio ‘West Bend’, ‘Bora Bora’ and ‘Cabin’. The former is lush ambiance while the later sees us re-exploring cyberpunk landscapes once again. Yet it is ‘Bora Bora’ that take the personal favourite crown, (by a hair from ‘West Bend’) Its ‘trip you up’ rhythm smiles beatifically as it whips the rug out from under you. I’m put in mind of Music Has The Right To Children the landmark electronic album by Boards of Canada. It was the effect they were going for and to be quite honest higher praise is difficult to conceive.
The rest is a varied and diverse listen. Secuund can be challenging and cold one moment, warm and accessible the next. Rest assured, you’re never far away from a stomping sequence. In fact the word ‘crunch’ hardly does justice. This is the sound of God stomping on fresh snow and while Suumhow somehow remain surefooted it is we who are staggered.
Summhow’s Secuund will be out Sept 20 and will be available on limited edition 180 gram sea blue vinyl, compact disc, and ultra-limited minidisc.