Vinyl LP, Compact Disc (CD)
In 2019, somesurprises’s excellent self-titled debut was a sonic balm for music lovers seeking an escape from the annoyances and atrocities of modern life, which have only piled up since then; but in the five years since that record’s release, the Seattle-based band has been largely absent from the resurgence of interest in shoegaze and dream pop driven by TikTok and Numero Group’s Duster reissues. This is either a travesty or bad timing or both when you consider that somesurprises possess a sense of clarity and momentum that eludes so many bands with hefty gear budgets.
Now, somesurprises is back with Perseids. As on their debut, the centerpiece of Perseids’s candy-colored swirl is Natasha El-Sergany’s silvery lilt. “Once I figure out this mind/ I’ll rejoin the living and rejoice,” she sings in “Bodymind,” a song that swells into a noisy crescendo, splitting the difference between Wooden Shjips’s West Coast hypno-jams and the deadpan synth drones of Stereolab along the way. Elsewhere, somesurprises navigate the spaces between pretty and dissonant with ease and expertise. “Why I Stay” transforms from a witchy ballad into dramatic post-rock thanks to psychedelic touches provided by guitarist Josh Medina. Earthy cello lines performed by fellow Seattlite Lori Goldston ground “Black Field” just enough to keep it from drifting away over the horizon. The album’s catchiest track, “Be Reasonable,” pairs a satisfying motorik beat (built by bassist Laura Seniow and drummer Nico Sophiea) with a serene indie pop tune and El-Segarny’s simple, relatable mantra: “I believe myself and I’m safe from harm,” she sings. “Be reasonable/ It’s not inevitable/ Be reasonable.”
In the middle of Perseids are two back-to-back tracks showcasing somesurprises’s wide range and approach to craft. “Snakes and Ladders” is a crisp, undulating, and gorgeous guitar lullaby that unfurls at a snail’s pace as a universe of out-there sounds echo and whoosh around it. It’s followed up by “Dark Victory,” which earns its title by conjuring scuzzy magic out of dusky drones, a lurching pace, smeared vocals, and a gentle eddy of noise underpinning it all. Both of these songs find the band in a fuzzy, fantastical place of their own making—not one that’s already crowded and overexposed. By patiently working around the fringes of shoegaze and dream pop, somesurprises finds itself a form that’s unbeholden to the times or trends.
