(The Film)

Fucking hell. You ever see a collaboration so shocking and fitting that you could never think of coming true that suddenly does? Well, this is one of those times! We gotta talk about it!

This is the surprising collaboration between post-metal supergroup ‘SUMAC’, featuring American poet, musician, and activist ‘MOOR MOTHER’, who in the past few years has released some of the most powerful music to ever come out. So when I heard these two were collaborating, I had to check it out, and fuck me, what an experience.

Starting with the instrumentation. This thing has strong elements of: 

– Post-Hardcore

-Sludge

-Noise

-Punk

-Ambient 

And the way they utilise these sounds is beyond unreal. You can feel every instrument as if you’re sitting live in a concert at the very front and just hearing the vibrations of the music itself take over your body from head to toe.

This album is methodically placed; they ain’t rushing to go nowhere; they spend their time building and conceptualising this world of despair and pain that is perceived by the audience, and it’s done with the utmost patience and dedication to the craft.

But they don’t stay completely silent. On some tracks, you do hear SUMAC deliver their signature vocals, which definitely adds a level of intensity and heaviness to the record, which I love! It’s almost like an album with two sides of the coin as far as the production goes; you get to experience both sides or both ‘Scenes’ as this record would refer to it, and it further establishes the perfect connection between the two artists!

Now onto MOOR MOTHER. The woman who has captivated me the most in the music scene for the past few years now. Her level of detail and expression is unparalleled. The way she uses her vocals to convey dark matters of pain, suffering, anguish, confusion, and anger is like listening to some twisted poetry by a madman who’s lost it all.

With her, it’s never about making a ‘radio song’ or ‘hit single’. She’s all about her concepts, her art, her reality, and she always reveals all three in her records. Even going back to the album with Billy Woods, ‘Brass’ in 2020, when she was on a slightly more ‘Hip Hop’ venture, she still carried that incredible tone and aura of power and change, the underappreciated ‘voice for the voiceless’, and she’s been on that level since back then. 

Her songs always feel like spoken word narratives, never a pattern or groove to attach to, just her and her extraordinary performances that stay with you weeks after the album is done. Her uncensored thoughts and opinions lashed out on her songs are what make her stand out the most in the industry and also why she’s always someone I’m down to listen to immediately after a new release.

Once again, another captivating album by Moor Mother and a fantastic showing by SUMAC, a band that never disappoints! I never would have guessed these two combined, but now I only want more! 

Shoutout to Candice Hoyes, Kyle Kidd and Sovie for their respective parts on the album!

https://open.spotify.com/album/3YGJIQF9nzJaehEcOTTDC8?si=PzNXkBM6T9COJMZZnaXiTA