Sunglaciers - Regular Nature
Mothland
Released March 29th, 2024
As I’ve been sitting to write this review, the sky outside my window has gone from sideways rain, to pale sunshine, to just now absolutely dumping what I believe is referred to as graupel (something between snow and hail). This is spring in Calgary. It is a shapeshifting season, full of change. And while change can be a bit unnerving, it can also be life-giving and sort of thrilling. Fittingly, even if unintentionally timed, Calgary scene staples Sunglaciers have released an album that synthesizes (in more than one sense) the spring-like power of mutability, liminality, and metamorphosis to create something fresh, exciting, and dynamic.
While never losing their core identity or a unity of sound, Regular Nature (released March 29th) sees Sunglaciers shapeshift their way through an ornately layered, sinuous record. This exceptional ability to reinvent and evolve their sound provides fresh twists and surprise turns around every corner, coaxing the listener through an array of soundscapes and experiences from labyrinthine underground passages to soaring, dreamy vistas. With a record about which there are many positive things to say, probably the best thing about Regular Nature is the unique way in which Sunglaciers have managed to totally avoid the formulaic while still crafting catchy, listenable earworms. Rather than default to predictability, the band instead more often opts to sit in the pocket and patiently let the song evolve around them into its full expression.
Maybe slightly more rock-forward and energetic than 2022’s also excellent Subterannea, Regular Nature serves up arty post-everything - fuzzy garage rock, frenetic noise-punk, synthy every kind of wave, dream pop, and subtle tips of the hat to many more subgenres and influences. In addition to some heavy-hitting guest support (including Chad VanGaalen, Daniel Monkman of Zoon, and others), Sunglaciers seem to have deliberately crafted Regular Nature to be at home almost anywhere - equally suited to a dedicated bedroom headphone session as a sweaty basement show. It is often uptempo and highly danceable, sometimes angular and jagged. At times the tones convey technological iciness that could easily fit the bill for a cyberpunk soundtrack, while still other tracks are warm and tender, perfect for quiet evenings of reflection. The album also tends towards a postmodern existentialism with techie tonality and lyrical themes that convey the confusion, dread, isolation, and absurdity of the current age. At the same time humane themes of intimacy, connection, and humor keep the album accessible and inviting.. In no way derivative, the record conjures the likes of Devo, LCD Soundsystem, Talking Heads, or MGMT - threading the experimental with the catchy to create a terrifically listenable album. For those who like things fresh, dynamic, and vibrant, Regular Nature is a perfect companion to the changeling season we find ourselves in.
- Chris Lammiman