Double Gatefold LP
Second pressing of perhaps one of the most hyped records to ever pass through these doors and certainly one of the most requested. As such, anyone reading these words will likely be at least halfway familiar with ML Buch and the charms of Suntub, though I wont that let that get in the way of my own customary eulogising. The collective love makes sense on a number of fronts, uniting 90s revivalism, crisp production and a rare emotional sincerity that possesses great cross-generational appeal (sorry for the major label marketing meeting). There's a lot of touchstones being reached here, and people are gonna pull all sorts of different readings - nu-gaze/slowcore/dreampop/ambient pop and so forth to the end of nomenclature. And for me? Well, the glassy synth drones and ghostly guitar figures imagine a twilit Red House Painters in the side room after the afters, which is probably about the best place to imagine Red House Painters if you're of a certain disposition (my disposition). Yes, this is invariably sad music charged with longing and desire, the kind of which never seems to be out of vogue too long. And that's ultimately the language ML Buch speaks - of and to the heart. People have been at that same coalface since year zero, which makes it all the more impressive when someone adds something new to the narrative. So, there it is: Suntub, a new iteration to the heartbreak continuum.
