Sioux, Sioux: Spoken in Tongues
Much of the time, when a band issues a self-released EP as a first release, what they mean to say is, “We made a demo,” and I would say that’s the case with Portland, Oregon, trio Sioux and their self-titled debut as well but for the level of professionalism involved. The four-track, 21-minute outing from the dually-vocalized three-piece finds them beginning to explore the reaches of Melvins-via-Mastodon crunch, and it’s an aesthetic on which they clearly already have a firm grasp. They also put in an appearance earlier this year on the Eolian Empire compilation Keep Our Heads among a plethora of their fellow Portland acts, and in what’s probably the most diverse-yet-cohesive heavy scene in the US, Sioux immediately stand out for the grip they have on what they want their sound to be. All four cuts on Sioux — “Bezoar,” “Rheap,” “Aegeless” (sic) and “In Tongues” — plunder and scrape with a sonic clarity to match that behind their musical concept, and though the whole work may not come across as groundbreaking in part because it’s so indebted in its roots to Mastodon, guitarist/vocalist Juan Carlos Caceres, bassist/vocalist Kirk Evans and drummer Ryan McPhaill succeed in establishing some measure of their own personality within that neo-progressive metal riffing, locking into a sludgy groove at the end of “Bezoar” that comes on fluidly and establishes a wider base for the other tracks to build on, which, fortunately, they do. Particularly as it’s their first release, there’s nothing more I could reasonably ask of Sioux than that.
And it’s worth reiterating that among the aspects of the release working in Sioux‘s favor, a remarkably professional production (credited to Fester at Haywire Studios) ranks pretty high. Both Caceres‘ guitar and Evans‘ bass tones come across as varied and full — sounding big enough and layered enough to give the impression of two guitarists — and a consistent thud in McPhaill‘s drums and variety in the vocal approach from the Kirk Windstein croaks of “Bezoar” to the cleaner rhythmic shouting that starts “Aegeless” lends the entire release a crisp studio sensibility that never turns too far to the side of studio trickery. “Aegeless” is perhaps the most melodic of the four inclusions here, but Caceres keeps a steady line of melody in the guitar leads across the board, so that even the chugging drudgery of second track “Rheap” has some accessible lines running through, riffs and lead lines blending in the steady sway of the deceptively patient chorus groove. All four cuts hover between 4:50 and 5:50, “Bezoar” being the shortest and “Rheap” the longest on either end, but there’s a decent amount of diversity between them, the trio shifting in pace and focus, adding a touch of psychedelia to the back-half build of “Rheap” before giving over chug-happy starts and stops of “Aegeless” and the ensuing fullness of the chorus that derives therefrom. McPhaill complements this patience with a flurry of snare hits under the lines, “I am the first and the last/The wheat and the chaff/When all the cities crumble/I’ll still be standing,” as the track opens to one of the EP’s most evocative leads.
Evocative, if brief. Just past two minutes in, “Aegeless” hits a dead stop and crashes into Sioux‘s heaviest lumbering, the vocals adding to the rhythmic stomp before another lead comes on to unite the two sections of the song. The band rings out and far back vocals advise “save yourself” as the Leviathan-esque progression renews, building in intensity over the last minute and a half but not losing its impressive technical edge along the way. Dueling guitar leads provide a subdued opening to “In Tongues,” but soon pick up to like-minded intricacies, complex drum fills backing open riffs, shouts making way for cleaner singing amid the churn, a late-arriving touch of Faith No More to add some variety to what’s by now a seemingly established form. I suppose even this could be related back to Mastodon if need be, but it seems unfair to reduce an act’s aesthetic to just one source, particularly on their first release particularly when that’s not really the case. In the quieter break of “In Tongues” before the EP’s last thrust, Sioux seem to be indicating that the spirit of the band has yet to be fully realized, and if that’s the case, I’m inclined to think of this self-titled as a sound first outing designed less to represent the entire scope of what Sioux can be musically than the beginnings from which they will try to find that out for themselves. That might be a lot of speculation to put on a group’s first outing, but the EP’s pro- and prog-minded attitude speak of good things to come.
