Sunforger - Auspices
cooked raw
It's been two years since we've heard from Sunforger: the Montreal four-piece consisting of Spencer Curtis, Piper Curtis(knitting), Chris Hauer and Kier Graham. Their 2023 self-titled album was my introduction to them; in years since it has been pivotal in my journey into the more gangly side of the already fairly gangly world that is Post-Punk. The Auspices EP is a 7-minute peak behind the curtain that we've been waiting for; the peak which confirms that the off-centre sphere of goodness is still in spin.
Auspices is 7-minutes of Sunforger's signature idiosyncrasies - breezy-come-heavy jangle, despondent vocals, eerie reminiscence and ghostly essence. The project was written between April and June of 2025 in Montreal and recorded between June 8th and 12th. Sunforger has this to say about the title of the EP: "The name “Auspices” is twofold. It’s the observation and interpretation of omens, attempting to discern the will of fate and the shape of the future. It also represents the guiding hand one takes in shaping that destiny for themselves and others. With their new EP, Sunforger offers you a sign of things to come, and a guiding light amid the shadow of uncertainty."
Auspice: a divine or prophetic token; a kindly endorsement and guidance; support and approval.
Auspices serves as a bit of a teaser - a bridge between one sonic space and another. The bands Instagram page reads: "It's a monument to the past, and an omen of things to come." This is like music(ayyy) to my ears. A new full-length Sunforger project should be enough to fill the void of peg-legged post-punk feats for the foreseeable.
Auspices is filled with lush, free-flowing, motoric rhythms. It sounds like a contradiction - free-flowing and motoric - but it has to be experienced to be understood. There are exceptions to every rule.
"I'm picking up the pieces again.
I'm falling apart faster each time.
I'm fucking broke, don't know how to live."
That deep feeling of disappointment that never fades. It wriggles round your ribs; lets you know it's there. Never good enough for yourself, or anyone else. Tomorrow's just another day. Is it all an illusion? Are my feelings even meant for me? Am I suffering for the greater good, or just suffering for the sake of it? Do the answers exist, or is life wasted when the question is brought about? Things feel a lot sharper when placed at your throat.
Sunforger have a sound that's done so well it feels simple - things done well embue a sense of ease in creative essence. Flicks of the wrists produce these elegant, acute twirls. Like ornaments on cinderblocks, the pretty intertwines with the pretty clunky. That's the beauty of it - things that don't now do. This, to me, is the signature Sunforger state: beauty and beast; sweet and despondent. The Montreal outfit snuggly sit somewhere in the left-of-centre realm.
Anything that's aesthetically efficient and sure of itself will make it seem like it's a replicable feat - best of luck when you're upside-down inside of your own confusion. Try as you might, Sunforger have this particular lane of slacker jangle sewn right up.
