There's something about being satisfied that is hard to describe but is universally known. It’s like drinking cold, plain water after walking a couple hot, humid miles, and even though nothing has been added to your refreshment, there’s hardly anything that tastes better at that moment. So I suppose it is indicative of what I’ve been listening to lately that my first thought from The Suntanama’s latest, Another, was, “Thank God, no reverb!”. My second was, “My, that’s good.”

The word going around is that The Suntanama hails from New York, despite their characteristically southern sound. I suppose the geographical explanation works for the time being, but allow me to submit a different one: Imagine classic early 1970s Stones with Nicky Hopkins in the mix on piano. Get some rural instrumentation in there like banjo and the trusty mouth-harp. Imagine then that Mick backed off and let a younger, wilder John Mellencamp wield the mic, throwing out something more down-home than usual but still sincere and still rock. Sounds interesting don’t it? And as I previously mentioned, it all sounds like it went down live, no tricks, no unnecessary reverb. Sick of slick? This is the disc for you.

The band is loose in the best possible sense. Guitarists Keith Connelly and John Allen may well be the next jam band guitar gods (for proof, check out the solo in “John Train”). Their noodling never knocks down the rest of the band, and yet there’s a lot happening if you listen carefully, like Dave Shuford’s funky, bouncing bass, like touches of strings on “John Train”, like a flute line on “Nod Off The Top Of My Head”, mandolin worked in here and there. It’s to the credit of the band that none of this sounds horned-in, obtrusive or jarring.

And then there’s Darren Zoltowski. Yes, it’s true, he’s got a bit of a bark in his delivery but it’s a compelling one. Part hellfire Sunday preacher, part sunburnt snake oil salesman, and he isn’t interested in mincing his message. He’s gonna make you remember that you heard something special tonight and he’s gonna belt it like his soul’s counting on a return. Listen to him on the second track “Massolit” and tell me I’m making this up. True, the lyrics are freewheeling and sometimes I had to listen extra hard to catch what was being sung, but the force and conviction with which Zoltowski presents them beats pop’s processed pubescent whining every time.

Now comes the difficult part: ordinarily, I try to point out which songs stuck with me and then try to explain why. I suppose my favorites would be “Massolit” with its melodic, subdued intro breaking into jam-band heaven for the song proper, “Taking A Moment For New Life” and the bluegrass-tinged closer “Late Night At The Fountain”. However, I was so taken by the disc as a whole, and caught up by the naturalness (is that even a real word?) of the work that comparing one tune against the next seems unusually unfair.

Are you tired? Have you heard one nu-metal stomp too many? How about the latest from the next big thing, the most recent American Idol winner or the newest diva with about as much passion as clothing? You need a break, a chance to stop and get a drink of water. After that, you’ll want Another, because being satisfied is a really good feeling.

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The Suntanama

Another

Released: June 14, 2003
Origination Year: 2003
Time: 48:02
Tracks: 11
Produced by: The Suntanama
Style: Studio
Format: CD
Enhancement: None
Label: Drag City Records
Website:
Suntanama

Welcome My Friend
Massolit
The Parable of the Lender
Roughcommon
In Time
The 3 of 3s
Nod Off The Top Of My Head
Taking A Moment For New Life
John Train
The Fingerlakes
Late Night At the Fountain