Susanna – “Triangle” (2016)

Label: SusannaSonata

Review by Warren Mayocchi

Like the simplistic brush strokes of a Monet painting, Susanna entertains with vocals and minimal instrumentation. Examining the music closely reveals repetitive lyrics and musical effects. However, that is not the point here, this album in total is like the the work of Monet and the other impressionist painters; the goal is to capture the sensory, or momentary and convey the fleeting aspects with an overall effect – in this case the medium is sound rather than paint. The marketing for the album describes “Triangle” as “soul music for lost souls”. It is true, listening to the album is like a melancholy dream. The textures shift throughout the seventy minutes of music, Susanna‘s vocals are sufficiently soothing and varied to set a mood without complacency. “In the Need of a Shepherd” and “Hole” have music videos, in them you can hear Susanna in a more traditionally arranged song, with stronger verse/chorus and fairly standard instrumentation. You can hear the quality of her voice, but the rest of the album is more experimental than the music in the videos. I particularly like the loose menace over a Vangelis-like undercurrent in “This/Phenomena” and the introspective mood of the rest of the album. There are twenty-two songs on “Triangle”. It is the type of album that makes you wonder about meaning, since I prefer the impressionist method of listening to the record, from my impressions I shall say “Triangle” is examining the connection between nothing, life and death on a rainy 1920s noir-like evening. It rewards your attention with an evocative experience but it is a personal question you will have to answer for yourself; evocative of what?

Rating – 79/100

Tracklist

1. Holy/Sacred
2. We Don’t Belong
3. Texture Within
4. Fear and Terror
5. Before the Altar
6. Hole
7. Shepherd
8. Under Water
9. This/Phenomena
10. For My Sins
11. Burning Sea
12. In the Need of a Shepherd
13. Born Again
14. Triangle
15. Pyramid
16. Ebb and Flow
17. Decomposing
18. The Fire
19. Sacred Revolution
20. Purple
21. Death Hanging
22.  In My Blood

Links

facebook.com/susannamagical

twitter.com/susannasonata

susannasonata.com