Susans Susans cassette
SUSANS are a three-piece bass/drums/ukulele combo out of London, Ontario. It appears they’ve been active for a few years now, and this is their first full-length. This is art-punk with an aggressive, occasionally demented edge. Vocal duties (largely delivered in a declarative shout) are split between bassist K. Cuz and ukulele player Gabe Nestor. Nestor’s ukulele adds a spindly, classically DIY quality to the whole affair—it doesn’t really rock, but it suits the paranoid songwriting. Tracks like “Nine,” “Impress Your Neighbors,” and “Too Much Info” are anxious and wiry, while “Hands” and “Toro” find the band sounding messier, less restrained. “Hands,” an ode to handwashing written at the outset of the pandemic, incorporates both melodica and sampled speech. They end it all with the buzzing, feedback-laden noise-punker, “It’s Okay (To Be Weird.)” I happen to agree.
