Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
In a time when to serve more than just a bubble is a political no-no, to find a thrill in the distribution of one willing, able, passionate enough to Serve 9, then the year with all its faults and Loki like mayhem, is one to be grateful for.
To say the physical presence of the arts in 2020 has been missed is not just an understatement, it is dry irony that has not been lost on those who have been demanding for decades that the occupation of talented expressive people have been slowly eroded by Government and a portion of society that believes that art is a waste of time, a plaything of those who don’t want to be employed in a ‘proper’ job. If the year has proved anything, that ‘proper’ job doesn’t mean much of you have nothing to give you hope, to amuse, to make you reach out, to make you get through the existential dread that Time has dictated we live through.
To Serve 9 is to serve a multitude, to bring to the table a radiant smile and the delivery of a set of tracks that are hot, crackling with flavour, and whilst the dish may be expected, is still able to contain a few surprises that the chefs have prepared in earnestness, hidden ingredients which open up the pleasure centres of the mind and leave the listener not only asking for seconds, but to insist that the those on the streets passing by the window of music should come inside and sample the dish themselves.
With the appetiser already enjoyed, the wonderful cover of Black/Colin Vearncombe’s Everything’s Coming Up Roses having delighted the fans, the rest of the Serve 9 album is just as tantalising, creative, examining, and in tracks such as False Flag, Sharp Knife, No Tears, Archangel Disguise, They Say Its In Your Mind and Recollection Of A Dream, The Suns have continued to intrigue the senses, to add depth, insist on the musical menu being presented with them inside and whilst the am was to Serve 9, it is a recording that should be sampled by all.
The year has been one of realisation, but with The Suns releasing this new album, it is one that also has redeeming features, one may endure a kind of Hell if they have an angel to guide them towards the light.
Ian D. Hall