Sunna
One Minute Silence
Astralwerks
Submerged under dark, cinematic atmosphere, rock n’ roll waters and the yearning voice of vocalist Jon Harris lies a musical terrain that is both polished and tarnished. After lending his textured axework to Massive Attack’s Mezzanine, Harris has stepped out on his own Bristol-honed feet, brushing away most of the trip-hop remnants to conceive the emotional and heavy Sunna. One Minute Silence is the result, and it jumps to a promising start as the gun fires with the heavy alt-rock number “I’m Not Trading.” But soon afterwards, Harris and crew experience the melodic speedbumps that signal a lack of cohesion or inspiration, which befall many an artist.
Silence changes personalities through virtually every track, hitting hard but ineffectively on the processed dirge of “Insanity Pulse” then strapping on an acoustic for the subtle “O.D.” All the moodswings, although confined to the rock pulse, are somewhat taxing, but Sunna offers a few breathers in the organ-washed waltz of “Forlorn,” but unfortunately it is too little, too late. Harris must have listened to Soundgarden’s Superunknown one too many times, for the influence is quite obvious and at times overbearing, but not put to much good use, making for an arduous listen. There is promise in these murky waters for future growth, but for now, it’s better not to observe this One Minute Silence.
Astralwerks, 104 W. 29th St., New York, NY 10001; http://www.astralwerks.com
