The Third Eye

New York City-based ambient country innovators SUSS are back with a new song called “Flight” that’s part of the trio’s forthcoming fifth LP, Birds & Beasts. The record will be released via Northern Spy Records on June 28th, and it sees SUSS digging deeper and populating its ethereal soundscapes with primal currents of sound inspired by the rhythms of nature.

While that description offers glimmers of hope, Bob Holmes (mandolin, guitar, harmonica, violin) says, “This is not Garden of Eden kind of stuff.” Pat Irwin (electric guitar, resonator guitar, keyboards) said of the record, “I think of the fragility of the world around us. I think of the humanity and the lack of it. The world seems out of balance. There are birds, and there are beasts.”

Birds & Beasts follows the trio’s acclaimed 2022 self-titled double album. On the new record, SUSS combines ambient synths, loops, and found sounds with more traditional Americana instrumentation, as they have in the past. Holmes is credited with coining the term “ambient country,” and that’s what SUSS does best. Aquarium Drunkard describes their music as “open music for open souls.” We need that type of stuff in a time like this.

We’re told that the tracks on Birds & Beasts are generally longer than most of SUSS’s previous work, with fewer elements and a greater sense of space. The song “Migration” dates from the group’s early days and is the sole track to feature Gary Leib, who passed away suddenly in 2021.

The single “Flight” gives us a glimpse of what’s contained in the new record. As always, the music is relaxing and expansive, conjuring images of wide-open spaces that SUSS is known for. Its wide-screen instrumental ambiance with a gentle acoustic guitar and a wandering, droning electric guitar that leads us into the natural spaces that SUSS speaks so fondly of.

Listen to “Flight” below:

If you like “Flight,” dig into the rest of SUSS’s impressive ambient country work, which mixes cosmic American music with touches of psychedelia. I recommend starting with the group’s groundbreaking 2018 debut, Ghost Box. You can also check out Bob Holmes’ Ambient Country Show, where he brings us the best new ambient music and occasionally interviews ambient musicians. Enjoy!

Pre-order Birds & Beast by SUSS on Bandcamp here.

You can support SUSS by finding them on Bandcamp, their official website, and social media (Facebook, Instagram).

Support Northern Spy Records by finding them on Bandcamp, their official website, or social media (Instagram, Twitter, Facebook).

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