Monkey Dance (Insignificance, Pt. 4)

2006 reviews

Album review
Kerrang!
12 August 2006
Dom Lawson

A band so cool that Tool nicked their bass player and covered their songs, SOTT share their musical soulmates’ exploratory zeal, if not their mischievous haughtiness. Am exercise in sprawling space rock with a tough, rhythmic core, ‘Tunguska’ takes the listener on a rollercoaster ride of jarring twists, elegant turns and unexpected detours. It’s a demanding album, but an inclusive and accessible one too. From urgent opener ‘Caught telling the truth’ through the nine-part 30-minute ‘Insignificance’ and beyond, this is one to enjoy without distraction. KKKK (4/5)

Album Review
Guitar
August 2006
Brett Callwood

Tool fans will be familiar with Brit rockers Suns of the Tundra because back when they were called Peach, bassist Justin Chancellor was a member. A well-received opening set at Download in June (performing on the same day as their former bandmate) did their reputation no harm, and their second album should let them capitalise on the current flurry of media attention. Much of the record is a success too... the guitar work between Oakes and Mark Moloney is often brilliant. It’s also often, dare we say, Tool-like, particularly on the ethereal title track and the excellent ‘Caught Telling the Truth’. Chancellor evidently received a good schooling…


Album Review
NightcapSyndication.com
July
Marty Dodge


There is a growing subset of prog called stoner prog. It takes in the late 60s psychedelia and layers it in with the uber-musicianship of progressive music. The band hails from the tundra known as Camden, London. There elements of Tool in there as well as Kings X with a taste of old Pink Floyd (RIP Syd). Heavy bass with loads of swirly guitar is the order of the day today... At times the band sounds a bit like Oasis if they had gone all prog. I am sure Homer would love the tune "Monkey Dance." I really rather like "Now the Flood has Come" with its catchy as hell guitar line. This is great stuff on all levels and you know damn well it will be cracking live.

http://www.nightcapsyndication.com/content/view/254/59/

Album review
Drownedinsound.com
July
Rock Monkey

I received the new album 'Tunguska', about two months ago. All I can say is go get it, now! I've had not much else on my player for that time, even though Tool’s awesome 10,000 Days came out around the same time, their English cousins show that they can still step up to the plate. The album itself is a wonderful journey, the sort of record you put your biggest, stupidest headphones on for and listen to with the lights off, absorbing every rich note, until you think it was written and recorded just for you, and no one else really knows the record like you do...

Why can’t you buy this in the shops? It would seem that right now, the Suns of the tundra website is the only place. The album ended leaving me in a reflective mood, the sort of mood that makes you say to yourself ‘there must be more to life than…’, and that’s when I realised that Suns of the tundra must not go undiscovered, leaving only die hard Peach/Tool fans like myself enjoying their work.... Suns of the Tundra's music isn't just rock, prog, stoner, metal, it's all that and so much more, they could be defining a new genre here and who knows what they’ll come up with next. I'm sure that not being a major label band, ‘Tunguska’ and future albums from Suns of the tundra will be largely unheard, criminal but probably true. However, I get the sense that this might be how they like it, doing it their way until people find them, the word of mouth concept, and that as we all know is the way it is for music a few of us love. So actually, lets keep Suns of the tundra our secret, and only share it with friends you think deserve to hear it.

Read this review in full at: http://www.drownedinsound.com/release/view/7674?type=user


Album review
Caughtinthecrossfire.com
July
James Sherry

Suns Of The Tundra evolved from the early-90s cult UK rock band Peach, famous for featuring Tool bassist Justin Chancellor. Combined with members of Mint 400 and Cortizone, Suns Of The Tundra enter a new era of progressive rock with their second full length album ‘Tunguska’ and it’s huge! A sprawling mass of sonic noise and grooves, these guys successfully take rock to the next level and every second of this CD is epic in it’s scope and sound. If you were lazy you could call them the UK equivalent of Tool, but we’re not and we won’t. Just be safe in the knowledge that Suns Of The Tundra will grow to Radiohead proportions or sink into obscurity because they’re just too damn clever for the lowest common denominator that you need to appeal too for success in the mainstream. Either way, this is a fucking great record.
http://www.caughtinthecrossfire.com/music/thepit/1498

Album review
Roomthirteen.com
July
Jo Vallance

...There's shimmering, uncomfortable beauty in 'Sandiette Light Automatic's nursery rhyme words combined with a discordant tune, while 'Monkey Dance' has those brash riffs that must have got Tool going. 'Lucky Dazed' is laden with epic emotion and more spoken word than music, provides an interlude that gets your attention before the stunning, 'Now The Flood Has Come', which harnesses the theatricality of Iron Maiden at their finest in its unrelenting riffs and haunting guitars echoing the vocals' sentiments.

...'Coelacanth Heart', plays us out with four minutes of ringing phones, vocal samples and random sound blended in with tender guitar notes. It's a fitting end to a fantastically interesting album. Fans of pure rock will love some of the earlier songs under the 'Insignificance' banner, while the psychedelic edge makes this a great listen for any music fan and there are some superb moments of exploration into softer territories.

Read in full at: http://www.roomthirteen.com/cgi-bin/cd_view.cgi?CDID=4083

Album review
MusicOMH.com
August
Sam Shepherd

...The band formerly known as Peach has regrouped, added a few new members, and continued their journey into the tripped out world of wacked out prog metal. Tool have of course been exploring this territory for some time, and many more bands have followed their example with differing margins of success. Suns of The Tundra happen to have made an album that is an unmitigated triumph. The album itself is divided into four sections, so pretension is certainly a factor. The band has also listed every piece of equipment they use on the album cover. Nothing screams 'nerdy muso alert' more, but then that kind of behaviour is openly encouraged in Prog circles. Still, we can forgive them this simply because every song here is packed with big ideas and huge riffs.

...The trouble with this kind of thing is that just occasionally that ideas run short and songs conversely turn into long drawn out affairs. This simply isn't the case with Suns of The Tundra, even the densest of the tunes on offer here somehow manage to appear lean, with no superfluous flab hanging off their middle eights... Perhaps the most impressive thing about Tunguska is the sheer size of the sound. The drums rumble like tracks of an approaching Panzer division whilst the guitars chime and grind often at the same time. They occupy several different musical ranges at once, which has the effect of stroking the pleasure centre of your brain whilst simultaneously carrying out a lobotomy with a steel toed army boot. (4/5)

Read in full at http://www.musicomh.com/albums5/suns-of-the-tundra_0806.htm