Now I Am Champion (04.09, Common Cloud)Byline: Yeah! Surprise hit of 2009!
For: Tuneyards, Islands, Menomena, These Are Powers
Sister Suvi had a few things going for it before I gave it the first go around. First, I had never heard of them and they were recommended by a very musically inclined friend. Second, after a little bit of research I found out they shared members with the Islands (another point in their favor). Third, they are from Montreal, the next Seattle, creative nexus of North America, blah bah blah. Fourth, their album name is something I repeat to myself on an hourly basis at work when I smugly gain the upper hand when talking with my boss. If these non-music factors contributed to it scoring an immediate 5 points on my scale out of 10, the actual music scored +6. Now on to the music, where to begin? Like their contemporaries listed above Sister Suvi take a post-modern milieu of disparate musical styles and layer them on top of each other until the independent clauses that are supposed to keep each sub-genre contained escape from their cages to form one very long run on sentence! Seriously, Sister Suvi takes the cake for experimenting with different musical styles and nailing them, then moving on to the next, a feat most former frat kids probably brag about to their co-workers. I am not kidding when I say reggae and post rock exist on the same album. Now I am Champion opens with heavy post-rock teaser that recalls Montreal's not too distant past intro before charging into the reggae-hip-hop inspired "American". Add some distorted guitars instead of the intricately picked ukulele and guitars on "Agua" and you have a prototypical grunge song. I am totally in love with Sister Suvi! This is endlessly enjoyable. I could not stop gushing about this album to my wife this morning and I doubt it will stop any time soon. Surprise hit of 2009!!
good find. like this
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