Sweden – a country known for blonde hair, blue eyes and diverse musical exports; ABBA, The Hives, Swedish House Mafia and of course, Refused. Now you can add Suis La Lune to that list and with ‘Riala’ being released on Topshelf Records, they’re a worthy addition as the screamo quartet have crafted a scrappy but somewhat potent record.

‘Cornea’ sets the standard early on with its frenzied approach before entering a clean slightly harmonious section which quickly shows Suis La Lune’s capability of variation. Throughout ‘Riala’ the bands loud-soft-loud style is pulled off amicably, from ‘Stop Motion’ to the dwindling ‘Wishes & Hopes’ to the bold ‘In Confidence,’ Suis La Lune bring a chaotic yet beautiful style and push it to its limit.

<a href=“http://topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/riala” data-mce-href=“http://topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/riala”>Riala by Suis La Lune</a>

Later on ‘All That Meant Something’ provides a subtle post-rock influence to the bands sound with cathartic guitars before erupting with the band yelling “You took it away” and layered guitars. Whilst the title track is a brief soft moments with twinkling guitars.

Although the bands formula is slightly limited and overbearing at times, they still make good use of it and throughout ‘Riala’ it proves to be affective with its dynamic structures. The end result is an appreciative, well thought out brand of hardcore emo that combines the bands experience and sensible ideas well.

3.5/5

‘Riala’ by Suis La Lune is available now on Topshelf Records.

Suis La Lune links: Facebook

Words by Sean Reid (@SeanReid86)