Bearsuit 2021
Scottish nonconformist takes off for an Icarus-esque adventure to capture the zeitgeist
![](https://dmme.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/bunnyinvalidsing.jpg" "BUNNY & THE INVALID SINGERS - Flight Of The Certainty Kids")
– Flight Of The Certainty Kids
If this ensemble’s name summons the image of a handicapped gospel choir, there’s nothing on the Edinburghers’ third album to discard such an assumption, because it’s a nigh on fully instrumental effort from a one-man team keeping a low profile, identity-wise. Not that the real person behind the Bunny moniker can matter more than his artistic presence… or, rather, presences, for the tracks on “Flight Of The Certainty Kids” bear titles which are not simply evocative yet suggestive of a story whose intricate – sometimes exquisite, sometimes roughly hewn – threads appear simultaneously to create a flabbergasting experience. Cinematically psychedelic, albeit never truly cerebral, Bunny’s numbers have so much going on about them but not once they obscure overall picture: the puzzling panneau where details work toward higher purpose – to reflect the tumult of our times.
This is why the music of some pieces manipulates the listener’s perception on a purely emotional level, “None Of This Happened” splicing delicate flamenco lace onto crystalline vibraphone only to unleash a doom-metal riff further down the line, and “This Is Happening” distilling it all to a tremulous, expectancy-laden, Mellotron-caressed soundscape, while funky, if tuneful, cuts like “A Sniper’s Heart” – setting deep rumble against cosmic synthesizer and spicing the blend with the groove-confusing mesh of percussion – aim to get intense and hit the audience straight between the eyes. However, there’s drama hidden under the glimmering hood of the twangy, hum-enhanced “Buckled & Bleeding” before death disco unveils a morbid filigree, and the romantic drift of “The Certainty Kids” lets a trumpet blare and soar, announcing belligerent beat and faux-vocals that deliver deceptive serenity and link the mood to “Drumming For Daylight” – for the reverie to land on the most alluring melody.
Still, when an almost orchestral arrangement of “There’s More Conjuring To Be Done” comes together from the sonic mosaic to rage and storm one’s brainwaves, the record’s jovial avant-garde intent is revealed as is its earsplitting-to-tender dynamics, whereas the raga of “Rebuilding This Boat On An Open Sea” is an adventure unto itself, weaving the folk-informed motif around the globe-trotting flow in which bossa nova, trip hop and rock symphony rub shoulders with hot wah-wah and cold electronica. So after “The Uncontrollable Light” brings things to a close on a funereal, brass-splashed note, the taste of a wondrous trip will remain on one’s mental palate for a long, long time.
It’s that riveting.
*****
2 Responses in other blogs/articles
[…] If this ensemble’s name summons the image of a handicapped gospel choir, there’s nothing on the Edinburghers’ third album to discard such an assumption, because it’s a nigh on fully instrumental effort from a one-man team keeping a low profile, identity-wise. Not that the real person behind the Bunny moniker can matter more than his artistic presence… or, rather, presences, for the tracks on “Flight Of The Certainty Kids” bear titles which are not simply evocative yet suggestive of a story whose intricate – sometimes exquisite, sometimes roughly hewn – threads appear simultaneously to create a flabbergasting experience. Cinematically psychedelic, albeit never truly cerebral, Bunny’s numbers have so much going on about them but not once they obscure overall picture: the puzzling panneau where details work toward higher purpose – to reflect the tumult of our times.This is why the music of some pieces manipulates the listener’s perception on a purely emotional level, “None Of This Happened” splicing delicate flamenco lace onto crystalline vibraphone only to unleash a doom-metal riff further down the line, and “This Is Happening” distilling it all to a tremulous, expectancy-laden, Mellotron-caressed soundscape, while funky, if tuneful, cuts like “A Sniper’s Heart” – setting deep rumble against cosmic synthesizer and spicing the blend with the groove-confusing mesh of percussion – aim to get intense and hit the audience straight between the eyes. However, there’s drama hidden under the glimmering hood of the twangy, hum-enhanced “Buckled & Bleeding” before death disco unveils a morbid filigree, and the romantic drift of “The Certainty Kids” lets a trumpet blare and soar, announcing belligerent beat and faux-vocals that deliver deceptive serenity and link the mood to “Drumming For Daylight” – for the reverie to land on the most alluring melody.Still, when an almost orchestral arrangement of “There’s More Conjuring To Be Done” comes together from the sonic mosaic to rage and storm one’s brainwaves, the record’s jovial avant-garde intent is revealed as is its ear-splitting-to-tender dynamics, whereas the raga of “Rebuilding This Boat On An Open Sea” is an adventure unto itself, weaving the folk-informed motif around the globe-trotting flow in which bossa nova, trip hop and rock symphony rub shoulders with hot wah-wah and cold electronica. So after “The Uncontrollable Light” brings things to a close on a funereal, brass-splashed note, the taste of a wondrous trip will remain on one’s mental palate for a long, long time.It’s that riveting.*****DMME.NEThttps://dmme.net/bunny-the-invalid-singers-flight-of-the-certainty-kids/?fbclid=IwAR38Ljw5U6gMc019rR… […]
[…] On 22nd Jan 2022 By bearsuitrecs New review from DMMEBUNNY & THE INVALID SINGERS – Flight Of The Certainty KidsIf this ensemble’s name summons the image of a handicapped gospel choir, there’s nothing on the Edinburghers’ third album to discard such an assumption, because it’s a nigh on fully instrumental effort from a one-man team keeping a low profile, identity-wise. Not that the real person behind the Bunny moniker can matter more than his artistic presence… or, rather, presences, for the tracks on “Flight Of The Certainty Kids” bear titles which are not simply evocative yet suggestive of a story whose intricate – sometimes exquisite, sometimes roughly hewn – threads appear simultaneously to create a flabbergasting experience. Cinematically psychedelic, albeit never truly cerebral, Bunny’s numbers have so much going on about them but not once they obscure overall picture: the puzzling panneau where details work toward higher purpose – to reflect the tumult of our times.This is why the music of some pieces manipulates the listener’s perception on a purely emotional level, “None Of This Happened” splicing delicate flamenco lace onto crystalline vibraphone only to unleash a doom-metal riff further down the line, and “This Is Happening” distilling it all to a tremulous, expectancy-laden, Mellotron-caressed soundscape, while funky, if tuneful, cuts like “A Sniper’s Heart” – setting deep rumble against cosmic synthesizer and spicing the blend with the groove-confusing mesh of percussion – aim to get intense and hit the audience straight between the eyes. However, there’s drama hidden under the glimmering hood of the twangy, hum-enhanced “Buckled & Bleeding” before death disco unveils a morbid filigree, and the romantic drift of “The Certainty Kids” lets a trumpet blare and soar, announcing belligerent beat and faux-vocals that deliver deceptive serenity and link the mood to “Drumming For Daylight” – for the reverie to land on the most alluring melody.Still, when an almost orchestral arrangement of “There’s More Conjuring To Be Done” comes together from the sonic mosaic to rage and storm one’s brainwaves, the record’s jovial avant-garde intent is revealed as is its ear-splitting-to-tender dynamics, whereas the raga of “Rebuilding This Boat On An Open Sea” is an adventure unto itself, weaving the folk-informed motif around the globe-trotting flow in which bossa-nova, trip hop and rock symphony rub shoulders with hot wah-wah and cold electronica. So after “The Uncontrollable Light” brings things to a close on a funereal, brass-splashed note, the taste of a wondrous trip will remain on one’s mental palate for a long, long time.It’s that riveting.Dmitry M. EpstienDMME.NEThttps://dmme.net/bunny-the-invalid-singers-flight-of-the-certainty-kids/?fbclid=IwAR0S-Ivi8VOnce6HZF… […]