What One Becomes
What One Becomes takes SUMAC towards the boundary between fixed composition and free interplay. Heavy riffs give the music recognisable shapes, but the band repeatedly release them for noise, silence and unpredictable turns. The strength lies in how the three musicians keep finding one another. Pieces can head in different directions without losing weight.
Image of Control immediately establishes that tension. Abrasive guitar, cymbals and a voice that seems distant fill the opening. When the sound drops away and a single riff remains, the music suddenly gains direction. The full band's return consequently feels especially powerful. Unease has prepared the next heavy movement.
Drums provide more than backing. Nick Yacyshyn gives the loose sections a rhythmic foundation and holds strange transitions together. Brian Cook's bass supports that movement while finding melodic room between broad guitar chords. Aaron Turner's voice makes the sound rougher without demanding the leading role everywhere.
Rigid Man eventually brings its tension towards an exceptionally forceful ending. Will to Reach instead has a more direct, fierce beginning before growing into a broad conclusion. These moments show how convincingly the band can develop a riff when their interplay settles into place.
Not every detour deserves as much room. Blackout especially stretches its ideas considerably, sometimes making transitions feel like separate sections rather than one composition. What One Becomes therefore requires patience that is not equally rewarded throughout. Its best passages nevertheless remain impressive. SUMAC turn repetition, weight and rhythmic freedom into a language of their own, with enough musical character to keep even the awkward stretches interesting. Greater restraint might have sharpened the result, but it would be hard to replace this distinctive interaction.
