Ahead of the September 21st release of the album Love In Shadow, Sumac have unveiled the epic 15-minute-long single “Attis’ Blade.” For song of that length that would normally test the patience and attention span of the average listener, the track exceeds expectations, and weaves an auditory journey — one with a few twists and surprises. According to SUMAC guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, the lyrics of the song refer to succumbing to base desires, “the subsequent self-abuse/admonishment to atone for these perceived transgressions of moral code, and also the personal histories that can lead to this kind of behavioral dysfunction.”
Sumac is promising more surprises with Love In Shadow, teasing at more overturning of musical expectations. “While all Love In Shadow 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,” said Turner. “Immediacy, intuition, and risk have become an increasingly important aspect of our music making.”
Turner also recounts that prior to Sumac even being fully formed, he had a goal as to how to approach writing songs: “marrying fully realized structures to freely improvised movements – and trying to find fluid passages between these worlds.” He continued, “‘Attis’ Blade’ is a breakthrough for us in that it comes closer to meeting that goal than anything else we’ve written previously. It’s a song I’m happy with in its own right, and more importantly as a key to the next step in our evolutional process. In this song I hear the three of us learning to trust one another more fully, and collectively embracing a more expansive dimension of our existence.”
To support the release of their new album, Sumac will go on a tour of the U.S. this September.
Listen to the new single, “Attis’ Blade” below.
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