Zeroes, Qc

montreal's suuns possess a rare trait in rock music: restraint. they use it like an instrument, which makes their debut full-length on secretly canadian 'zeroes qc' as unsettling as it is wonderfully exasperating. it's immediately apparent in album opener 'armed for peace,' a track that starts off like a robot breaking down in a hot desert; the song's mechanic beat plods like iron-shoed footsteps as the melody of a wheezing synth mirrors the crackling sound of old transistors and circuitry being cooked in the sun. it's deceptively lulling, the tension almost unnoticeably wrenching up and up until the track unexpectedly opens into a barrage of nose-diving guitar riffs and crashing drums - yet the band still stays locked on the song's linear, forward-motion direction. 'zeroes qc' is a warm yet dark, propulsive collusion of pop, post-punk and experimental rock - one that allows the group to musically shapeshift without losing any of the sense of tension and unease that runs throughout the record.