It’s been near on 2 years since funk-soul outfit, Suneden let loose their sparkling debut LP, Smooth Groove. Busy garnering gigs and amassing a funky flock of fans across the country (including a coveted spot on the Party in the Paddock festival line-up), the six-piece have had time to ponder, party and perform. Back and bearing a brand-new track, ‘Mumma Told Me’, feels like the product of a band that’s cut its teeth and is ready to bare them.
Arising as a “slow blues melody a couple of years ago” before being “transformed into something far more dynamic and powerful”, ‘Mumma Told Me’ projects a tightness we’ve come to expect from the group. But this blues-driven rock’n’roll ode bears an unanticipated guts, grunt and drive that’s equal parts rejuvenating and raw. Guitars grind behind the wails of freewheeling harmonica as if it’s all come straight out of a 70s blues-rock swamp.
Key cogs to the Suneden experience, Sunny Thapa and Eden Lee are just as aesthetically aligned with the composition, belting their lines with colourful charisma. There’s a weight given to the way each standard is sung; “My Mumma told me, when I was a child, don’t you ever let no man, make you cry”. Positively preaching about retaining one’s sense of self, Lee croons, “Don’t let nobody push you around, or break you down”.
Stamping an artistic authority with an all-in climax, the 6-piece soar with riffs flying, cymbals clashing and keyboards glistening. Above it all the, fittingly, gospel-style chorus calls remind us how integral inherent values are and how important it is to adhere to them. Exemplary of an accrued experience through both adversity and elation, Suneden aren’t taking lessons from others anymore. They’re passing on their own.
My Mumma Told Me is out now on all streaming services.
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