Every so often, there comes an album with such foreign, yet familiar, beauty, it holds a plethora of surprises. The self-titled debut album from somesurprises is as close to spiritual bliss as a tangible pinnacle can be. Taking cues from the shoegaze canon, with guided hands of experimental and pop music masters, Natasha El-Sergany and her collective-minded company in somesurprises invoke a holy ghost to bring forth an otherworldly experience.
With its 36th release, indie record label Drawing Room brings in a new wonder with somesurprises’ self-titled debut LP, a treasure among pop treasures that is due out on September 20th. The album explores a range of styles, from gradually intensifying meditative drones, to songs where the same moment never quite happens twice. As in previous cassette releases with fewer members, El-Sergany uses her ethereal voice as an instrument, no more or less central to the music than a guitar hook or a drumbeat. But the vocals and lyrics are more in focus than ever before. From shimmering cascades of reverbed guitar chords, to driving bass and percussion guiding guitar and synth freak-out outros, as a full band, somesurprises finds its fullest expression yet. The songwriting here, laden with effects and orchestral arrangements, reaches for more than navel-gazing, and seeks, perhaps, through knowledge of the self, to guide the way out of one’s own mind. The album bears repeating for repeated plays (at maximum volume for peak pleasantries).
Today Glide is excited to offer an exclusive premiere of “Country Sun”, one of the standout tracks on the new album. Amidst an eerie, shuffling soundscape, we are treated to El-Sergany’s dreary yet elegant vocals. Her voice seems to drift over a slow-crawling, shoegaze-y wash of mysterious guitar, synth, and steady-moving drums to create an almost orchestral feeling. The band lets the pace of the song build steadily before peaking with a torrent of psychedelic instrumental effects, making this heady stuff.Â
Natasha El-Sergany points to a perhaps unlikely source of inspiration behind the song:
“‘Country Sun’ is inspired by the Moody Blues’ ‘Nights in White Satin’. We didn’t have an orchestra or a choir handy, so we tried to make up for it in intensity.”
LISTEN:
somesurprises LP is out Sept. 20th on Drawing Room Records
Tour Dates:
09.14.19 – Seattle, WA @ Flower Fest at Highline
10.02.19 – Seattle, WA @ Central Saloon
10.18.19 – Oakland, CA – Oakland Secret
10.19.19 – Los Angeles, CA – TBD
10.20.19 – San Diego, CA – Whistle Stop
10.22.19 – San Francisco, CA – El Rio
10.23.19 – Chico/Davis, CA – TBD
10.24.19 – Portland, OR – The Liquor Store
10.25.19 – Olympia, WA – Cryptotropa
10.26.19 – Seattle, WA @ Sunset Tavern w/The Cave Singers
10.27.19 – Vancouver, BC – Redgate
