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Apollo Suns
A Relationship of Force
Color Red - 2021
Michael Panontin
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Apollo Suns have been kicking around the Winnipeg area since 2016. The psych-jazz ensemble, whose lineup can stretch from a quintet to a nonet depending on the recording, was formed by guitarist Ed Durocher and bassist Dave Guenette following the "deconstruction" of a band they were in called Electric Soul.
A Relationship of Force is their third EP and continues the group's evolution from a guitar-driven psychedelic outfit to a softer, horn-laden jazz one. Exhibit A would have to be the how the record transitions from its ebullient opening track, 'Silver Gloves', a frenzied guitar and brass rave-up to wake the neighbours to its more placid - though equally excellent - closer, 'Rosie', a moodier piece of music penned by Durocher after a particularly life-altering event.
"'Rosie' was written in the early months of parenthood with my son Miles," he explained by e-mail to CM. "It's about the fragility of being a new parent, the gentleness you need and how chaotic it can all get." The gentle part seems obvious: this is fairly straightforward seventies jazz with all the usual hallmarks (brass elements, smooth solos, electric piano). But on 'Rosie' - as on much of A Relationship... - there is a subtle experimental bent once you scratch the surface. Aaron Bartel's sax, for instance, is lush and languorous, and Anatol Rennie's piano is much the same. But listen more closely and you hear theremin-like sounds that give the track an eerie touch. Add to that some fine drumming by Ethan McKibben, who at times seems to speak in a more rock idiom, and a powerful horn-fuelled finale and it becomes quite a fetching piece of music.
A Relationship of Force is the final installment in what the group call their Sun Cycle, a trilogy that includes 2017's Each Day a Different Sun and 2019's Dawn Offerings. All three are worth checking out.
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