The intriguingly named sssiv pique our interest with debut album, sssiv 1.
By Graeme Smith
Feature photo by Mathia Haugaard, 2024
The name sssiv comes from the fact that its three members – Sara, Stephen, and Sasha – all have names that start with an ‘s.’ If you’re confused about how to pronounce it, it rhymes with ‘give.’
The band describe their debut collection as being “woven” together in Copenhagen, Denmark, and there is certainly a sense of fluid experimentation about it. They’re also promising much more improvisational works to come, so this could be the start of something beautiful.
The album sits roughly within the genres of shoegaze, dream pop and alternative rock, picking up where bands like Yo La Tengo, Cocteau Twins and The Breeders leave off. They’re genres close to my heart, so I tend to be a bit picky when it comes acts making music in them. It’s fair to say sssiv pass muster.
Consisting of four compositions and four improvisations, sssiv 1 is an eight track collection that shows plenty of promise, and acts as a great introduction to the trio’s sound. The album opens with January Entry which sets an early mood thanks to its pensive, echoing guitar, jazzy drums and percolating bass. As it progresses, a marching beat kicks in and things reluctantly come to a boil.
Memory Boy follows, bringing with it a swaying rhythm and sense of dreaminess. It’s also our first taste of the band’s charismatic, harmonious vocals. Long Fall strips things back in a contemplative number before Sea Salt gives us an atmospheric, poetic highlight.
False Harmonics is one of the album’s punchiest moments thanks to its driving bass and soaring guitar. Been Better is short and sweet before Blueberry proves an expansive, memorable highlight. Suddenly Sad, Suddenly Sweet closes the collection with some gentle, piano-led ambience.
With their debut album, sssiv demonstrate that they have everything they need to make me a fan, and I’ll certainly not be alone. I can’t wait to hear what else they’ve got going on!
Sssiv 1 was recorded in Nordfalster, Denmark and mastered by Jason Kingsland in Athens, Georgia, USA. It’s out now and you can give it a listen below.
