SSM - Not Just Another New Band

Some bands begin with a group of young, talented and progressive individuals that grow into each other, becoming mature together. Other bands have more maturity from inception, drawing talent from a pool of other groups. Like The Raconteurs, SSM pulled together a trio consisting of pieces from Detroit bands such as The Paybacks and The Hentchmen (John Szymanski – vocals and keys), The Sights (Dave Shettler – drums), and Cyril Lords (Marty Morris – guitar). It’s as if they’re each starting anew, learning from the mistakes of their youth and coming to a collective realization that they have the talent and experience to create more meaningful and progressive music.

Like writers, who cannot avoid inserting their lives into their writing, SSM marinates in the rough but endearing Detroit sound that they’ve been surrounded by for over a decade each. But this is just a base – a foundation that is even bypassed at times on SSM’s self-titled debut (on Alive Records). Take the introduction to the album’s first track, “Exit Strategy”, as an example, which is nothing but a collection of noises that serve as a soundcheck of creativity to come. From there, the record seamlessly shimmies from Gories-styled soulful garage (“No Looking Back”) to a statically distorted glam hand-clapper (“Sick”), and shakes from the blissfully danceable “Put Me In” to the psychedelic sonic caboose, “The Seer”.

But it might be “Dinosaur” – the only track to make the cut from their critically acclaimed (New York Times) demo, LP1, onto the official debut – that is the killer which every album invariably needs. “Dinosaur” has elements of Beck, The Beatles, and Andre Breton – the blips of the Atari game keyboard line, the tumbling breakdown, and the surreal guitar solo garnish the dynamics of the upfront bass and backdrop stun-drumming. Equally as sticky is the repeated opening line, “I’ve had much better than you,” which is wonderfully simple and direct, much like SSM themselves. Yet, like the band, its power lies in the layers behind it.

The album could be seen as self-indulgent because SSM tends to do what they want to do without much regard for anything else – this is what they hear and how they want to communicate it – but SSM is more self-consistent than anything else. And while SSM explore their own realizations, it’s up to us, the listeners, to indulge a bit – to absorb and interpret an extremely impressive hybrid debut.

SSM - Sick (video)
SSM - Dinosaur