Poland‘s Sunnata emerges from the cloud of smoke that shrouded the band on their last album to jam out their brand of grunge-out psychedelia.

On Chasing Shadows (self-release), they continue to push their sonic boundaries. This more experimental approach sheds some of the aggression that marked their last album, with droning baritone vocals that might remind you of the late Mark Lanegan from Screaming Trees. Despite this album being less Metal than their previous work, it is the most logical step forward in their musical growth. The intensity that marks this album is more nuanced than what we have heard from the band in the past.

The vocals build into a throaty belt, without tensing up into a growl. This belted style of singing employed here possesses enough balls for a song like “Torn” to pack more of a kick than just sustained tension. The vocals show perhaps the most improvement to their overall sound. They are often crooned with a palpable melancholy. They have been given a great deal of thought throughout this album’s recording process. The overall production is great, but all too often in Rock and Metal, vocals are more obligatory compared to guitar, so it’s refreshing to hear them given priority here. This is not to say there are not some outstanding guitar tones here; there are, and those guitar tones can be heard in the winding spiral of sound that lures you into “Wishbone”. This finds the band stepping into the direction of progressive, not a huge surprise considering their previous album did not conform to what you expect from the Sludge or Doom genres.

This album might work off looser jams of a theme, but they do balance it out with enough bones to the songwriting to hook you in. An example of this can be heard on the chorus to “Wishbone”. The vocal layering to “Saviours Raft” slants the song in an Alice In Chains direction, droning off the hypnotic lull they lose themselves in. The band builds the song up into a heavier pound that might be one of the album’s more metallic moments, while not conforming to the tropes of Metal.

The hypnotic chant to “The Tide” is highly effective at creating a mood, though it’s more of a song to zone out to rather than an earworm you return to. “Hunger” is more brooding in its storm-building tension. The bass player is the key to this here and in other songs, with a hefty tone that holds the backbone down. Even a simple strum is an effective blueprint for them to follow. “The Sleeper” combines the brooding Grunge melodies with the pulse of early Pink Floyd‘s dark speculations. The last song, the album’s most experimental moment, rides an odd ambient groove.

The band achieved what they set out to do here, which is to create a sound that is possessed by a surreal intensity. Fans of their earlier work will find plenty to embrace here. This is one of those magical Progressive Rock albums where the progress is found in moving the mood forward rather than just focusing on guitar solos or tricky time signatures.

Buy the album here:
https://sunnataofficial.bandcamp.com/album/chasing-shadows

 

9 / 10
WIL CIFER