Album Review: Sumac and Moor Mother – The Film

Musical collaboration at its best.

Artist group Sumac is generally categorized as a metal band, while Moor Mother is generally categorized in the alternative hip-hop/rap genre. But there is something that connects them both together, which is experimentalism. Both groups have what most would describe as an out-of-the-ordinary, avant-garde flair to their music form. In collaboration, the groups entwined their personal styles into one, revolutionary composition.

Their collaborative piece, The Film, has evident themes of societal pressures, interrogates patriarchal norms and calls for their deconstruction.  Typical musical patterns are not present within The Film, and would potentially be best understood if consumed as an artwork, not just an album, or perhaps an artistic form of communication.

The Film begins aggressively with “Scene 1,” blaring, brooding and distorted instrumentals, quickly followed by piercing spoken word. Delving into the lyrical content, “Scene 1” boldly sets the stage for the themes to be explored, giving insight into Moor Mother and Sumac’s standpoints on systemic oppression, political hypocrisy, violence and traumas within society.

While some themes are explicitly stated, others are inferred, as the album is riddled with metaphorical language, “They don’t want us to breathe / I want my breath back,” or “This game been broken backs and black eyes,” for example. This leaves space outside of the direct and definite messages for listeners to create their own visuals to fully create the picture that The Film is seeking to paint.

Moving throughout the album, there are also fully instrumental moments that allow the listener to sit with the harsh realities explored throughout the lyrical content. Repetition of phrases emphasizes ideas, like in “The Truth is Out There,” in which only that one phrase is repeated throughout the track. Additionally, in this track, a connection could be made for the phrase “The Truth is Out There” as it is most famously associated with the series The X-Files, which itself explores themes of uncovering the hidden truths of the universe, and standing up to government conspiracy.

It is not often seen when artists join forces to express their beliefs, feelings and send important messages to an audience in a way that weaves together their own art forms into one. The Film, in its poetry, activism and frustration, is a pioneering artwork in both musical norms and transformative themes.