Congrats is one of the most aptly titled records to come out in the past few years. Truly, Toronto electronic band Holy Fuck face a very welcome return to the scene with this year's record. Given the strength of the band's discography and the influence they've held on the Toronto electronic scene, the time away feels immense. For example, Montreal electronic act Suuns, beside whom Holy Fuck are currently co-headlining, have released their entire discography of 3 LPs and a one-off 12" single, along with a collaborative LP with Jerusalem in my Heart, all in the time since 2010's Latin. But fresh on the take and hungry to get back on the stage, the band seem more visceral put together than ever, and they couldn't have better tour mates. In their six years on the scene, Suuns have made good time on evolution, cutting through new sonic boundaries with every swipe. Their latest, this year's Hold/Still, is their best yet, channeling the brooding energy of 2013's Images du Futur and translating it into a driving, brutal force. Both of these headliners come into this tour with a setlist full of magic, ready to show it off to every crowd, ready or not for the electronic onslaught to come. Together with up and coming Toronto experimental band DOOMSQUAD, tonight's Crocodile show was a showcase for some of Canada's best electronic ensembles.After a successful bout of hype at this year's SXSW, Toronto electronic act DOOMSQUAD are perhaps set more than ever for an international launch into the bigger scene. While their band name may have originated from a joke, there is nothing tongue-in-cheek about the intensely vivacious music that the trio has concocted. The band combines the unlikely aesthetics of Neon Bible era Arcade Fire, electrified new age, and a makeup nod to La Dia de los Muertos. Traveling to New Mexico and working with Mike Haliechuk (of Fucked Up) for the recording of new album Total Time might help to explain the post-modernism of the whole thing. But on stage, DOOMSQUAD require very little in terms of prior awareness or context - they give plenty in the form of hypnotic, carnal sonic constructions. Mixing electronic texture and presentation with lively, highly organic stage presence, DOOMSQUAD opened the night up perfectly, combining the best elements of the two bands yet to come.
DOOMSQUAD:
Some bands are centered around songwriters or song styles - others are simply centered around a feeling. Though they do have plenty of well crafted songs, I would file Montreal electronic act Suuns under the latter category, as for the last six years or so, they've been dialing in on a complex, often misunderstood feeling with increasing accuracy. That feeling is brooding, menacing anticipation. Suuns music, heavily influenced by the driving, conical sounds of krautrock and the modular sounds of David Byrne and his worshipers, swirls and sways, moving forward in the dark towards a set endpoint you aren't sure if you ever want to reach. It's no surprise to see them working with ambient artists like Jerusalem in my Heart (the two did a tantalizing collaborative record last year) Older songs like "Bambi" and "Red Song" dance divisively, endlessly into the night, letting the feeling play out as it will as long as it desires. But with time and experience, songs like "Translate" off of new album Hold/Still manage to house 8 minutes of panic in a clean cut four minute shell. On the Crocodile stage, Suuns make no small talk, show off no cool lighting tricks or visual wonders (I don't even think they had a light on singer Ben Shemie's mic stand). Instead, bathed in nothing but dark red, the band burns through fifty minutes of pure, unadulterated anxiety in a form as revealing as they deserve to be (namely, not at all). Dark mystery truly enshrouds Suuns, but the sense of apprehensive discovery makes them all the more satisfying to consume.
Suuns:
The bright return of light from the end of Suuns' set was welcome. Brian Borcherdt and Graham Walsh have never felt any need to hide or obscure their instrumental setup from the onlooker. Their thick electronic landscapes are as homespun as they get. Who needs cool DAW patches when you can make wicked noise with an onstage 35mm film synchronizer and other household objects? The unorthodox and organic approach to dance music has remained a standard in Holy Fuck's realization, whether it be in the studio or on the stage, and with Congrats, nothing has changed in that department. What has evolved in that time is a desire to return to their more abrasive, confrontational sound of their earlier records. Maybe it has something to do with the bands Graham has produced in the time since Latin (hardcore acts like METZ, and the jagged post-punk of Preoccupations), but whatever the cause, Congrats is a very loud, very raucous party - the kind that feels like a freaking revival after six years of time away. Tonight, parties both old and new were received with rapturous applause. The band had no difficulty wrangling the crowd to their whim - with every descending note, the room only seemed to move more. Holy Fuck's return to Seattle was nothing if not congratulatory, both to themselves and the bands joining them on this tour. All celebrating a strong 2016 and a strong presence on the Canadian electronic scene, this tour is a victory lap worth taking.
Holy Fuck:
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