Sunglaciers Expand on Spiritual Content
A restless, detail-rich record from the Calgary art-punk outfit.
by Em Medland-Marchen
There’s something deeply cerebral about listening to Calgary-based Sunglaciers’ latest release — a breathless plunge into art punk, complete with industrial vocal styling and panic-inducing instrumentation. Spiritual Content resists easy access, weird in the best possible way: a restless cacophony kept in motion by the steady heartbeat of Mathieu Blanchard on drums. Evan Resnik’s vocal melodies cut through production textures that range from popping bubbles and tin-can clang to jangly indie guitar tones and fever-dream synths.
“Dead Stop” and “Not Yourself” flirt with MGMT-like psychedelia, all glossy surfaces warped by deadpan distortion. Elsewhere, experimentation rules. “Starting to Come Back” feels watery and primitive, Resnik musing, “It gets dark slowly / Is it winter in your head,” as piano and samples drift in and out like snowfall. An extended outro of atmospheric percussion roots the track firmly in downtown Calgary’s frozen expanse.
“Intention” delivers classic Sunglaciers post-punk in just over a minute, nodding to the legacies of Women and Chris Reimer. Nothing fully stops on this record; songs dissolve and reform, breath to breath. Spiritual Content is bright as a sun flare, and as complex as the black ice beneath our feet.
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