SUMAC the Northwest-based trio consisting of guitarist/vocalist Aaron Turner, bassist Brian Cook, and drummer Nick Yacyshyn have announced their new album The Healer, out on June 21st on 2xLP/CD and DL. Alongside the album’s announcement, the trio have shared the single “Yellow Dawn,” an epic that churns meditative organ by Faith Coloccia into a glacial stomp that the band obliterates into swirls of airtight riffing and untethered, intoxicating improvisations.
On The Healer, recorded and mixed by Scott Evans (Kowloon Walled City, Thrice, Great Falls, Autopsy), SUMAC deepens its multi-faceted exploration into the parallel experiences of creation and destruction. Over the course of 4 tracks in 76 minutes, SUMAC presents a sequence of shifting movements which undergo a constant process of expansion, contraction, corruption and regrowth.
This musical methodology reflects the thematic nature of the record – narratives of experiential wounding as gateways to empowerment and evolution, both individual and collective. The group’s interpolation of melody, drone, improvisation, and complex riffing becomes a transmogrifying act embodying the depth of human experience. In its highest aspiration it mirrors our ability to endure mortal and spiritual challenges, through which we may emerge with an increased capacity for understanding, empathy, love of self and others. Dismal though the subterranean pits of The Healer may at first appear, from them can be felt the unwavering determination to embrace life, acknowledge interdependence, and honour the gift of existence.
THE HEALER TRACK LISTING:
1 – WORLD OF LIGHT
2 – YELLOW DAWN
3 – NEW RITES
4 – THE STONE’S TURN
In support of the release of The Healer, SUMAC will be touring throughout North America, including a set at the Vancouver International Jazz Festival alongside Moor Mother, whom they recently recorded with.
SUMAC TOUR DATES:
Jun. 21 – Vancouver, BC – Fortune Sound Club (Vancouver International Jazz Fest) ^ [tickets]
Jun. 22 – Seattle, WA – Clock-Out Lounge # [tickets]
Jun. 23 – Portland, OR – Mississippi Studios # [tickets]
Jun. 25 – Chico, CA – Naked Lounge Coffee #
Jun. 26 – San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill # [tickets]
Jun. 27 – Oxnard, CA – Mrs. Olson’s # [tickets]
Jun. 28 – Los Angeles, CA – Zebulon * [tickets]
Jun. 29 – Los Angeles, CA – 2220 Arts + Archives ~
Jun. 30 – Las Vegas, NV – Backstage Bar & Billiards % [tickets]
Jul. 1 – Reno, NV – Holland Project % [tickets]
^ w/ Moor Mother
* w/ White Boy Scream
# w/ White Boy Scream, Grave Infestation
% w/ White Boy Scream, Rile
~ w/ Zachary Watkins, Sulphuric Cautery
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Photo credit – Nate Newton