SUMO – III
Release Date: 13th December 2024
Label: Rikishi Records
Bandcamp
Genre: Post-Rock, Space Rock, Instrumental.
FFO: Explosions in The Sky, This Will Destroy You, Russian Circles, Torche.
Review By: John Newlands
When I think of SUMO, the first thing that comes to mind is Japanese wrestling. My mind conjures imagery of rotund Japanese men in giant diapers, huffing and grunting alongside the hard slap of flesh and muscle. My local sushi takeaway of the same name also comes to mind – kudos to Henrik and his very tasty Ebi Ringo, along with E. Honda and his classic “100 hand slap” move from back in the day when I played Street Fighter II.
I’ll tell you what I don’t normally think of….., Floridian instrumental space rock!! Nope, not once…ever. But I guess that is all about to change now that I am aware of this lesser-known gem.
SUMO, are a three-piece band based in Miami, Florida who founded in 2013 and have previously released two full length albums on their own label, Rikishi Records. The latest release III was recorded at Sound Artillery Studios with Jonathan Nuñez (formally of Torche).
I’ll put this right out there, if you don’t like instrumental music, post-rock, spacey, dreamy guitar reverb or anything that has some sort of association with space, space travel etc. Thanks for reading so far, but you might as well stop now.
III starts with some static and a soundbite warning us not to return to Mars before thundering drums and guitars kick in and opening track Alyssa is in full swing & setting the mood for what is to come in III. For me, standout track on III (and lead single for the album) is Shadow of Antiope, which invokes a joyous, upbeat and energetic feeling that I don’t feel is visited again on the album. To elaborate; other tracks seem to evoke a feeling of serenity mixed with urgency and drama, opposed to the optimism displayed in Shadow of Antiope.
Eta Carinae is another standout track that opens with a huge pulsing bass delay that feels like a space sonar or probe, pulsing and vibrating in your brain before reverb soaked guitars and drums kick in, and the track slowly builds to a crescendo. Next standout is the hard hitting riff monster Apophis which showcases the interesting dynamic and textural abilities of SUMO that are impressively provided by Chris Salazars 8-string guitar and Amando Ventura’s bass along with their substantial pedalboards!
Shorter cuts SETI3 and SETI4 act as sinew between the main songs, providing us a link and passage between the stars and planets being conjured & really help to pull the album together and are not out of place.
The production of III is spot on and really suits the style of the music, it’s clear and articulate, shows great use of dynamics with spacey, washy reverb soaked passages falling into crushing, heavy distorted riffs that executed very well. Before reading the press statement, I drew parallels to the guitar sounds on III with those on Harmonicraft by Torche, so I was not entirely surprised to learn of the collaboration with SUMO and Jonathan Nuñez, who is experienced with getting a huge sound out of a three-piece band. Clearly they are a good fit.
One could be forgiven for thinking that III is a basic post-rock album that lacks the overt technical flourishes & flamboyancy of other instrumental space rockers – such as Astrosaur, which can to some seem like “too much”. The technical nuance is very much present in SUMO’s playing, it’s just displayed in a different and perhaps more palatable way for the listener.
All in all, III is an extremely fun and catchy space themed post-rock instrumental album that takes us on a mission between the stars to Mars and beyond with flourishes of sludge and doom in-between.
(4 / 5)
