It’s always exciting when a band you love releases a new album. And it’s extra exciting when you have a platform to share that brand new album – on the very day of its release!
Suzies is something of a supergroup among bands from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Featuring members of The Omecs, Heaters, Haunted Leather and Black Fruit, the band plays a scorching brand of psychedelic garage rock that draws on the very best qualities of each of the aforementioned projects.
The new album, Forget Me Not, is Suzies’ first full-length release after a series of EPs in 2016, and is their most fully realized work to date. Released by Grand Rapids’ imprint Dizzybird Records, the album features 11 tracks and clocks in at over 40 minutes, making it a particularly rewarding experience for those of us who have been waiting more than a year for a new release from the band.
Now, I have to be honest, prior to today I had only heard two songs off the album: Little Debbies, which opens the album with a bang and a grind, preparing you for the aural adventure to come, and the slow-burning Lazy Suzan, with swelling guitars that climb ever higher over more than 5 minutes of pure, unadulterated rock n roll.
Little Debbies
Lazy Suzan
After spending the better part of the day listening to the album in its entirety, it is clear that those two initial tracks were meant to whet the appetite before the full entrée. Each song transitions beautifully to the next, luring you deeper into Suzies’ world of 60s psychedelia meets bluesy garage, with equal parts heavy fuzz and swirling melody on the side.
Bad Rock, Kids Bop, Breast Milk and My Hands immediately appeal to fans of bands like Oblivians and Obits, while No Peaksies and Goodluck have just enough of a 90s grunge quality to seem both utterly familiar and brand new at the same time. Songs like I Wish I Wasn’t Slow and title track Forget Me Not, mine psychedelic terrain recognizable to fans of Night Beats and The Black Angels, though Suzies’ version – with its masterful guitar and the perfect amount of reverb, yelps and wails – has charms all its own. Taken as a whole, the album showcases a band that is truly coming into its own and taking you along for a psychedelic ride you’re not likely to forget. Forget Me Not, indeed!
I Wish I Wasn’t Slow
Check out Suzies’ new album, Forget Me Not, as well as their excellent previous releases, through their Bandcamp page https://suzies.bandcamp.com and order a copy on vinyl from Dizzybird Records https://www.dizzybirdrecords.com/store/forgetmenot.
And for even more with Suzies, check out their appearance on Red Moon Radio from way back in November 2015 (!!!) at https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/redmoonradio/episodes/2015-11-09T22_01_31-08_00