UK band THE NIGHT SUNS was formed in 2016, and in the year or so the band has been a unit they have been busy developing themselves as songwriters and performing artists. “Human” is their debut EP, and is set to be self-released in early December 2017.

The band cites an interesting array of influential artists on their websites, the greater majority of these being classic grunge bands, with a light additional flavoring of industrial metal. Aspects of both can be heard in the music they explore too, although this is a band that in my view have more of an indie rock flair to them than an amalgam of grunge and industrial metal, and possibly with more of post-punk seasoning than distinct industrial rock and metal flavors at that.

Opening cut Smoke comes with something of a post grunge flair to it, if there is anything that can be described in such a manner, with insistent sleepy vocals of the kind that gives associations towards some of the lighter kinds of substance use at that, in a tight affair that exists on the borderlines between hard rock and metal. Second cut My Blood Is Cold is a night time mood affair, alternating between gentler psychedelic tinged landscapes and a tight, arguably post-punk flavored variety of classic grunge. Title track Human, which concludes this EP, is a song that sounds like what I’d expect a band like REM to come across if they ever tried their hand at grunge.

That being said, while I hear a lot of nods that points back to the classic Seattle era on this EP, and the moods and atmospheres tends to be dark, the vibrancy, urgency and nerve of the classic grunge bands isn’t all that much present here. We have the moods, but arguably explored from more of an indie rock approach in being a bit more distant and detached.

Reading up on the various subgenres of subgenres I see that post grunge is indeed a defined style of music these days. If The Night Suns adheres to the confines of that particular box I do not know, but as far as the music goes my perception is that post grunge fits rather well: This is a band with a stated inspiration from that genre, that blends elements from it with additional details to create something slightly different, and something that could not have been created prior to the 90’s wave of grunge bands at that. And they do so in a compelling manner at that I should add.

As far as a suggested audience goes, those who tend to be fascinated by bands existing on the borderlines between indie and alternative as well as being caught between hard rock and metal somewhere should feel right at home with this band. Especially if you enjoy bands of this kind that emphasize moods and atmospheres of the darker kinds.

 

My rating: 80/100

Track list:
Smoke // My Blood Is Cold // Human