Sucker Crush - ‘Echoqualia’
Photo by Nika Aila States
Sucker Crush from Oakland, California, has just released the stunningly beautiful new EP, Echoqualia, so we decided to take a look at two of its slow-burning progressive folk gems.
“Stranger” is a track filled with mesmerising spectral beauty. Not only does it have textures that feel like sunlight landing softly on the ground of a pristine forest, there is also something darker at work in the spellbinding composition. Over a gently plucked acoustic guitar, one that flows and weaves you into a state of hypnosis, vivid, haunting chamber pop orchestrations drift in like a distant memory. Intimately, yet unsettlingly evolving into psych-tinged impressionistic sound-scaping that brings to mind not only Linda Perhacs but also the woozier end of later Talk Talk.
Suspended over the top is the delicate, ethereal, otherworldly vocal of Sucker Crush. Comparisons to again Linda Perhacs, or Joni Mitchell or Ann Wilson of Heart come to mind from the stunning performance. With a pure dreamlike voice we are led through a poetic, deep reflection of a relationship that is filled with love and tragedy. It is the sound of something so personal, something most people wouldn’t share with others, only think about in the privacy of their own room.
“Holding Still” is described by Sucker Crush as “the soul of the EP. It is heart-breaking and honest, with comic relief at all the right times.” Much of the light relief comes from the waltzing acoustic guitar groove that feels as you are being whisked away on an old carousel. Much like the ones you may have wanted to ride and orbit in your childhood at the fair. Soft, warm and incredibly graceful, only breathy, velvety touches of what sound like clarinet gently caress the delicate groove.
With lyrics that touch on loneliness, anxiety but also the comfort and grounding of ordinary things such as the playfulness of cats and coffee, Sucker Crush again serves up a soft, hushed vocal performance. With tender, lullaby like phrasing, parallels to Elliott Smith seem closer to the mark when describing the airy, organic and emotive tones.
Both of these tracks and the rest of the new EP showcases powerful minimalism, where every element has an emotive, pristine purpose. Quite simply, Sucker Crush is sublime, mysteriously soothing folk at its best.