Indie Jazz Alchemists sunking Announce New Album 'Smug'

"There's elements of jazz and indie rock and hip-hip and electronic music, but ultimately, sunking is all about exploring the nooks and crannies between those genres, about throwing out all of the rules and expectations in search of something completely fresh and original," says the band's drummer Bobby Granfelt.

A duo comprised of Granfelt and keyboardist Antoine Martel, sunking are announcing their second album and first with ANTI- Records today. Titled 'Smug,' the groundwork for the album is drawn from a series of freewheeling, lo-fi drum sessions captured back in 2016 while the horn and keyboard-fueled arrangements on top are part of a more deliberate vision of the band's sound that's been evolving ever since the release of their 2019 self-titled debut.

Alongside today's announce the band has shared two album tracks: "Bad Habits" and "Glitch / Spy."

Commitment is the name of the game for Granfelt and bandmate Antoine Martel, who first bonded over a shared love for progressive jazz, punk, shoegaze, and underground electronic music while still in high school.

Over the years, the powerhouse drummer and keyboard wizard would collaborate in a variety of configurations-most notably as members of the sprawling Seattle collective High Pulp, which garnered a cult following and rave reviews on the strength of its "nuanced amalgam of funk, jazz-fusion, and R&B" (The Stranger) and "expansive, cinematic, intricately detailed sound" (KEXP)-but sunking always remained distinct from any of the pair's other projects, in large part because it always remained just the two of them.

"There's a bit more of a loose, shoot-from-the-hip approach we're comfortable taking as a duo," says Granfelt. "I've always loved music that was rough around the edges-Alex G, Guided By Voices, Modest Mouse-and we don't shy away from that kind of grit. We'll just throw up a couple microphones and start recording anywhere: a studio, a bedroom, a moving vehicle, it doesn't matter."

"We have a bit of a telepathic thing going on where we don't even need to speak to communicate at this point, either" adds Martel. "With sunking, there are fewer filters between us and the music."

TOUR DATES

11/9 - Bellingham, WA - The Shakedown
11/10 - Seattle, WA - Freakout Festival
11/11 - Tacoma, WA - Real Art
12/4 - Los Angeles, CA - Genghis Cohen
12/11 - Portland, OR - Turn Turn Turn