Album Review: Suspirians – Ti Bon Ange

Suspirians

Ti Bon Ange (Super Secret)

(Originally posted here) 

Texas Platters

Flaunting a propulsive sonic mystery, Suspirians stake a sweet spot between Great Britain’s post-punk and neo-psychedelic scenes of the Eighties. On sophomore uptick Ti Bon Ange, a vodun term for one-half of the soul, point track “Fortune Spider” lays down the local threesome’s overarching aesthetic: Bassist Stephanie Demopulos and ST 37 drummer Lisa Cameron’s determinedly repetitive rhythms propel frontwoman Marisa Pool’s shimmering minor chords and cloud of bees vocals. To say the LP merely varies that formula sounds dismissive, but the band keeps each track fresh with minor sonic tweaks and an energy level set to stun. Soaked in droning organ and whooshing riffs, “Scarlett Sleeps” keeps the tempo dreamy until placid becomes stormy. Aggressively anthemic, “Black Holes” and “Moonwave” drop acid with dragons, blazing through the ether like an unholy cross between Siouxsie & the Banshees, the Black Angels, and Savages. Infused with wild spirits and bristling with bad vibes, Ti Bon Ange invokes the ghosts of prior trips as timelessly as its musical ancestors. (LP release: Electric Church, Fri., June 9)

***.5