Late last month Melbourne punk trio Suss Cunts delivered their brief but memorable new five track EP Temper. Around the same time, they shared ’10 Years’, its magnificently direct third single and for us EP standout. It follows up ‘Newby’ from late last year and the title track from February which now has a video .
On ’10 Years’, frenetic drums, muscular bass and melodic fuzzed out guitar provide the platform for Nina Renae to spit in the face of maddeningly unjust double standards put upon women when it comes to sex or anything else that involves a bit of gay abandon or loss of control. She cleverly attacks outdated conventions and stifling expectations by putting herself authoritatively front and centre and openly and casually recalling with wry honesty her hazy, decade long exploits with sex and alcohol. It’s her that does the leaving, her that does the fucking, her who regularly wipes herself out and her that can’t remember the details. Nor are these experiences related to as some sort of big deal or boastful celebration. They are presented as matter of fact, normal everyday occurrences where women, like men are free to fuck and get fucked up. No judgement, no shame and no victory lap either. It just simply would have been nice to remember, that’s all.
Despite lasting just a tick over 11 minutes, the casual yet methodical delivery of Temper’s salient subject matter and the diversity of musical styles employed is most impressive. It’s production is also noteworthy for putting a subtle emphasis on and creating distance between each musical element. This enables the rhythm section of Tahlia Eastman and Helena Holmes through their proximity in the mix to appropriately complement Renae’s economical yet actually quite dense melodies and the trio’s harmonic vocal interplay. There’s a feeling about this EP that there’s a lot more in the trio’s tank ready to be expended. For now though Temper sets Suss Cunts up very nicely for whatever they decide their future to be.
Listen to ’10 Years’ and watch the Vanessa Cox directed video for the title track below. Temper is out now on Hysterical Records. Get it here.
10 Years
Suss Cunts (AUS)
From the EP, ‘Temper’, Hysterical Records.
Suss Cunts Facebook
Audio Stream
Temper
Suss Cunts (AUS)
From the EP, ‘Temper’, Hysterical Records.
Official Video