Suzes “Fragile Development”

Whilst being a three piece is pretty common for a power pop flavoured band, being based in Dusseldorf (as the Suzes are) is more unusual. This is their debut release but singer/guitarist Lee Jones was previously in a band called The Solicitors. The fact that they hailed from Australia perhaps gives a better hint of the sunny pop feel that this album offers.

The album kicks off with the blistering and surprisingly rocking “Information Overload”. Along with tracks like “First Love, Last Resort” it suggests a band who have a feel for arena rock. They represent something of a big band sound that has us thinking of 90’s acts like SR71, equal parts rock and pop with a commercial appeal.

But the album really comes to life on the songs where they let their inner power pop geek out. “A Stones Throw” is a brilliant pop rocker that is just built for playing on summer days. Tracks like “Interested Photographer” and “Pleasure Doing Business With You” bop along with totally infectious melodies. Anyone who loves ‘proper bands’ who play pop flavoured songs (think Dum Dums, The Crash Modern, Butch Walker) will lap up numbers like “Blind Trust”.

It’s not all sunshine and light though, there’s a far more crunching and almost punky feel on “My Heart Is A Mirror”. Along with “Sometimes Bad Things Happen To Bad People” there is a more spiky edge to the guitar sound and a more intense beat.

Whether you call it power pop or modern rock, the one thing that holds true with all these songs is that they have a great sense of melody and the band clearly recognises a ‘good tune’. Too often focus is placed on how a band look or what scene they fit in to. Whilst The Suzes might not be generating a new trendy/hipster scene, they deliver some damn fine tunes. As proven by previous bands such as The All American Rejects or American Hi-fi, there is definitely a potentially huge market for a band able to deliver catchy rock songs.