SUMAC "Love In Shadow" 2xLP
Record Label - Thrill Jockey
Listeners who followed the Northwest trio down the tangled briar of mathematical riffs and hypnotic battery on The Deal or through the unfettered eruptions and methodical dissonance of What One Becomes are aware that SUMAC eschews the conventional balladry typically associated with odes to our spiritual connectedness. Saccharine sweetness or fatalistic tales of unrequited affection are nowhere to be found on Love In Shadow. Over the album’s hour-plus length, the band employs minimal tools to achieve a maximum overview of visceral passions. Yet while popular music puts an emphasis on conveying moods through well-tread tropes, cultural signifiers, and deeply ingrained associations between tempo, texture, melody and their respective emotional resonance, SUMAC approach their music with the tactile immediacy of abstract expressionists. The beauty is not in the content, but in the form.
Love In Shadow comes crashing out of the gate with "The Task." SUMAC wastes no time churning out the meticulous bombardment of knotty riffage and dexterous drumming that drew cerebral metalheads to their early records, but at the moment when most bands would wrap up their song, the band pushes forward and the razor sharp delivery and dense polyrhythmic weave of instrumentation begins to crumble. Turner’s signature bellow escalates into a primal howl. Everything falls apart, and suddenly we’re left alone with a warped melody played on a broken guitar. The band locks back into a lurching, megalith groove, and then retreats into a tense, minimalist palm-muted rhythmic pattern while a fragmented stream-of-conscious guitar line slithers across the open space. The entire song, and indeed the entire record, grapples with a duality of intricately composed arrangements juxtaposed against unbridled improvisations.
The freeform abstractions of Love In Shadow were hinted at on early songs like “Hollow King” and “Image of Control”, but SUMAC’s recent collaborations with esteemed Japanese artist Keiji Haino pushed the band completely into the realm of spontaneous composition. “Incorporating a lot of free and open space within the borders of our songs has been an ongoing goal for us,” Turner says. “While all of this material was written before our recording session with Haino, that experience further bolstered our confidence to travel further into territories free of preconceived structure and melody. Immediacy, intuition, and risk have become an increasingly important aspect of our music making.” Whether it’s the protracted guitar solos underpinned by a malleable rhythm section on “Attis’ Blade”, the woozy drones of bending guitar strings and feedback on “Arcing Silver”, or the intermissions of distorted amplifier groans and Eastern guitar trills on “Ecstasy of Unbecoming”, these adventurous sojourns add a new dimension to SUMAC’s ongoing explorations of dynamics. The polarized approaches of calculated composition and untethered expression now reside with fluctuations between space and density, complexity and brute force, and shrill noise and rumbling thunder in the trio’s arsenal of contrasts. Kurt Ballou recorded the album live with the goal of minimal overdubs or fixes over five days at Robert Lang Studios in Shoreline, WA. The result is an album that sounds more alive and human than the common computer grid-built mechanically perfect metal record.
“Since many of the surface level aspects of our being are often used as divisive tools to separate and alienate us from one another, the intent with Love In Shadow is to reveal that all humans desire and need to be loved and accepted for who they are, for just being,” Turner says in closing. “The album also serves to highlight what some of the repercussions are for love that is scorned, suppressed or socially discouraged—we lash out against one another, our love turns to fear, we disparage ourselves, we try to fulfill the need for love through unhealthy means—and on a more destructive level, those in positions of power are compelled to annihilate and oppress others.” Love can be beautiful. Love can be ugly. But at its core, it’s alive, unpredictable, and volatile. On Love In Shadow, SUMAC captures that passion in the most primal and unfettered manner possible.
Tracklist:
01. The Task
02. Attis' Blade
03. Arcing Silver
04. Ecstasy of Unbecoming
What does Pre-Order mean & how does it work?
Pre-order means that you are ordering an item that is not yet manufactured or in stock. Pre-Order items will not ship before their release date. If your order contains one or more pre-order items, the entire order will be shipped in one package once the pre-order item is released.
Product Information & Safety
Disclaimer
Vinyl Orders- Please note that we do our best to protect vinyl records ideally for shipping, using our custom made mailers and additional cardboard squares. However, we can not guarantee that no damage on the way occurs. Ordering is at one's own risk. Vinyl might be delivered unsealed as we have to open copies to check vinyl colours, if not sufficiently labeled by the distributor / label.
Product Images- Please note that most of the images in our store are not actual photos but mock ups. These mock ups are digital representations of what we expect the final product to look like - however they do not represent the final product. Final vinyl pressings, prints, etc. may look slightly different.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I pick up my order?
Yes, you can pick up your order from our warehouse in Berlin Lichtenberg. Please choose “Pick Up” as delivery method at checkout and pay for your order as if it was a regular order. You will be notified via e-mail once your order is ready for collection. Pick Up times are Monday - Friday between 10 AM and 4 PM.
Only orders fully paid in advance can be picked up. You can not shop directly from our warehouse → online purchases only.
If not collected within 7 days after being notified that your order is ready for collection, your order will be cancelled.
After receiving your ready for pick up notification via e-mail, you can find us at the following address:
Josef-Orlopp-Str. 92
10365 Berlin-Lichtenberg
Walk onto the backyard and look out for a green door with a black sign saying "EVIL GREED / EG Distribution GmbH" and our logo, next to a loading ramp. We're located on the second floor - please ring the bell.
How do I return items on my order?
As long as the items are unworn and unwashed they can be returned to the below address:
EG Distribution GmbH
Evil Greed - Returns
Josef-Orlopp-Str. 92
10365 Berlin
Germany
Please note that we do not cover shipping back to us. If you want to make sure your package arrives okay you might want to consider sending it trackable / insured. Please also include either a copy of your invoice or a brief note with your order number so we can assign the package to the right order / customer.
Please clearly mark your shipment as "RETURN" so no custom / import charges are due when returning from an non-EU country.
Once the items are with us and have been checked by our team, we will refund the amount due to your preferred payment method!
Do you have a size chart for your items?
Yes, you can find it here.
Can I combine orders / add items to an already existing order?
We are not able to make any changes to already existing orders. If your order hasn't been processed yet, we can however cancel it so that you can place a new order containing all the items you wish to purchase.
When will my order arrive / how long does shipping take?
If your order does not contain any pre-order items (see below) it will be shipped within 1-2 days after purchasing. Once shipped, depending on where you are shipping can take up to 1-3 days (Germany), 7 days (Europe & UK) and 30 days (worldwide). If you want your order to arrive as soon as possible, please select FedEx at checkout.
How much does shipping cost?
You can find our shipping cost here.