If you haven’t read anything about Sydney-based up-and-comers Sures being a “sure thing” – allow us to be the first. Stars, the quartet’s debut EP, guarantees you’ll be reading a lot more punning assessments in the near-future.
The group first caught attention with their charming mix of reverb-drenched dynamics – and the softest twang of surf rock – on “Poseidon”. A strong mission statement of the band’s intent to blend the fuzzed-out appeal of dream pop with the sun-drenched panache of West Coast bands like Wavves and Best Coast.
To that end, in pop culture terms, as Weezer’s “Buddy Holly” clip was to Happy Days, so too could “Poseidon” be retro-fitted to Back To The Future’s climactic Under The Sea Dance of 1955.
Fitting then that the EP’s opening title track, leapfrogs from 50s slow-dance to barrelling 80s soundtrack. The chugging guitars and booming drums of “Stars” tap into a stimulating up-tempo ride, complete with a cuss-happy chorus of “you think you’re the shit when/you’re fucking the stars.” There’s even time for a sampled vocal monologue, completing the reminiscence to the nostalgia-come-arena moves of M83.
“The Sun” and “Romeo” follow, stripping back the wall-of-sound fuzz somewhat to focus more on the important melodic and vocal thrust of their arrangements, but are ultimately less distinctive than the opening salvo.
In contrast, the odd accident that isclosing track, “L.A.” comes as a delightful surprise. Spinning off a wonky guitar loop and choppy chords into a dreamy haze of harmonies singing “I understand real life” over a simplistic, clipped beat.
It’s proof that there’s more to this young act than simply happening upon a fusion of popular styles. A sure-footed debut that’ll *ahem* surely put Sures in the public ear.
– Al Newstead
