Sumac announce new record, The Healer, out on June 21st via Thrill Jockey

Sumac, the Northwest-based trio consisting of vocalist and guitarist Aaron Turner, bassist Brian Cook and drummer Nick Yacyshyn, have announced a brand-new record, The Healer, recorded and mixed by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Thrice, Great Falls, Autopsy) On this new record, Sumac deepens its multi-faceted exploration into the parallel experiences of creation and destruction. Over the course of 4 tracks, in 76 minutes, Sumac presents a sequence of shifting movements which undergo a constant process of expansion, contraction, corruption and regrowth. Alongside the record’s announcement, the trio have shared the single “Yellow Dawn”, an epic that churns meditative organ by Faith Coloccia into a glacial stomp that the band obliterates into swirls of airtight riffing and untethered, intoxicating improvisations. You can listen to “Yellow Dawn” below this article.

This musical methodology of the trio reflects the thematic nature of the record – narratives of experiential wounding as gateways to empowerment and evolution, both individual and collective. The group’s interpolation of melody, drone, improvisation, and complex riffing becomes a transmogrifying act embodying the depth of human experience. In its highest aspiration it mirrors our ability to endure mortal and spiritual challenges, through which we may emerge with an increased capacity for understanding, empathy, love of self and others. Dismal though the subterranean pits of The Healer may at first appear, from them can be felt the unwavering determination to embrace life, acknowledge interdependence, and honour the gift of existence.

The Healer will be released on June 21st via Thrill Jockey. Pre-orders are now available here.

 

Photo credit: Nate Newton