Promise

New York City-based quartet SUSS emerged in 2018 with Ghost Box, an ambient country record which seemed like a more rustic counterpart to Daniel Lanois work on Brian Enos Apollo: Atmospheres & Soundtracks. The self-released album became somewhat of a runaway hit, and the Northern Spy label put out an expanded reissue later in the year, as well as its darker, more cinematic follow-up, 2019s High Line. Third album Promise is perhaps their most nocturnal effort yet, tipping the balance a bit closer to space music while also having a sort of psychedelic undercurrent. Loops and light beats are sometimes present, but the music largely feels unbound by rhythm, free to luxuriate in wide-open spaces. Some tension is evident, though, as No Mans Land features craggy violin and wheezing harmonium, and theres an ominous feeling to the fuzz guitar-laden Mission. Drift sounds a bit closer to Robert Fripp playing lead guitar over a Spaghetti Western score, and Winter Light is lushly layered with guitars, swirling synths, and melodica. The gentle hi-hat ticking and pillowy steel guitars of Nightlight end the album on a tranquil note, peacefully floating toward the cosmos. ~ Paul Simpson