Sour Blood – Suas (2024)
The brainchild of Irish artist and musician Kevin Gleeson, Sour Blood is one of those projects that brings a familiar warmth while still pushing the lines of conventionalism. While we are a little late to the party, with Sour Blood already entertaining artists since 2019, we feel we have known Sour Blood for days, weeks or even years. Irish charm melded with soulful sounds, the Tipperary-born Gleeson intoxicated audiences with confident performances; in 2021, he took Sour Blood to international listeners releasing ‘Sleep Paralysis’ and critically acclaimed debut EP Good Nevers. Today, we look at his most recent single, ‘Suas’.
The first release since Good Nevers, ‘Suas’ is another offering of Sour Blood’s boundary-breaking, genre-diverse, highly innovative music. Recorded as part of the debut album SUAS – a collaboration between Brendan Jenkinson in Gothenburg, Sweden, and Gleeson in Dublin, Ireland – this title track is a “symphonic swell of nocturnal balladry that drifts eloquently across glacial fronts of rich orchestration and introspective grandeur…” Truthfully, that explanation in Gleeson’s own words is better than anything I can muster; however, I’ll do my best to continue with silvery-tongued words.
A barebones opening introduces you to a seemingly simplistic soundscape, the stark emptiness between Gleeson’s vocals and percussion opens the route to a sonic forest. You easily walk along without any fear… then it gets real. Floods of synths with interspersed strings rush past in kaleidoscopic swirls. The music quickly ensnares your senses without you even realising what is happening. A thick cloud wraps about your brain and, honestly, it’s a psychedelic experience; yet a strong earthly organic tone remains an anchor.
Overall, what do I think of ‘Suas’? Confident, hypnotic and bold, but with vulnerable melancholy and profound severity. Not one to be taken lightly, Sour Blood stands above the rest with his eclectic, experimental and enchanting sound.
In addition to the single, Sour Blood released an official music video for ‘Suas’. You can view the video below or on Sour Blood’s YouTube channel. Please note that this video uses lighting effects that can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. Viewer discretion is advised.
VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED
Find out more about Sour Blood on his X (formerly Twitter), Instagram and Spotify.
This artist was discovered via Musosoup #sustainablecurator
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