Anthem of Plenty is Suncastle’s twelfth release on Triplicate Records and it is a rich tapestry of sonic wonder. Energetic bangers mix with laid back lofi grooves and delicate, emotional moments. A bounty of fresh lofi electronica to keep your ears engaged and your mind in overdrive. There’s “plenty” to unpack here.

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INTERVIEW
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Michael Southard: The way you structure your albums is spectacular. Kind of reminds me of Boards of Canada. Would you consider BoC a major influence of yours?

George Ernst aka Suncastle: Thanks, and yes, unashamedly so. OK, maybe a little ashamedly. A lot of people making lo-fi electronica end up sounding BoCy (editor’s note “like Boards of Canada”), it's really hard to ignore. Even the oddball song titling. I think it's because aping Aphex Twin is much harder, though I'm constantly trying to sound less like them. Not all, but most of what Aphex and BoC put out sounds super melancholic, whereas I try to make happier tunes. Generally. This album has a slightly icier sound than Shored Up! or Jaws of the Sky.

MS: What have you been listening to lately?

GE: Mostly excellent music like Hverheij, Chaircrusher, Marie Wilhelmine Anders, Fields of Few, RIKAAR, Belial Pelegrim, and my friends Mike and Bryan who I work with at Triplicate. I'm usually the guy who does all the write-ups so I end up getting their tunes stuck in my head. Which is fortunate because they're all really good. Ok, I'll give you two non-Triplicate artists I've been listening to a lot. One is Danny Playamaqui, who releases tunes under a plethora of odd monikers and you probably already know and love. Another is an obscure little band called The Beach Boys which you'll likely not be familiar with, check them out.

MS: How long did it take you to finish Anthem of Plenty? I know you generally work very fast. Was this an exception?

GE: Yes this was an exception. I've gotten really into drawing dumb stuff lately and that's taken up a lot of my leisure time, consequently, Anthem of Plenty came together over the course of almost a year. For comparison, 'Nah', my seventh album was only 21 minutes shorter but took maybe a week, tops. I'm weird. My M.O is constantly changing where speed is concerned, but I've actually really enjoyed working like this. Means it came together organically, and 30 or so fewer fitting tunes could be rejected.

MS: If you could speak another language, what would it be and why?

GE: American, I think they speak that in Canada and Australia too so it'd be super useful

MS: After making twelve albums for Triplicate Records, and what some might consider “countless” albums on other labels or self-releases, what is the most important thing you have learned about putting an album together?

GE: That there really aren't any rules worth considering or adhering to other than 'try not to make it suck'. I don't think any of my albums are similar except Minotaur Golf and In Pegasus Gardens where it was a deliberate choice.

MS: You’ve recently self-released “Out in the Boonies, Out in the Sticks”, how is this, if at all, related to AOP?

GE: Out in the Boonies and Out in the Sticks were both early names for 'Hoppin' Mad' and 'Tap the Cat' respectively, I liked the way they sounded put together because it reminded me of my all-time favourite album, “Under the Bushes, Under the Stars” by Guided by Voices. Granted neither album sounds remotely like GBV except for the fact that they're a little bit lo-fi, but the wordplay was too fun to resist!

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REVIEW
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Coming in hot from his last album In Pegasus Gardens, we’re delighted to bring you Anthem of Plenty. AOP is Suncastle’s twelfth release on Triplicate Records and it is a rich tapestry of sonic wonder. Longtime fans of Suncastle will feel right at home here, with a bounty of fresh lofi electronica to keep your ears engaged and your mind in overdrive. There’s “plenty” to unpack here.

Things open up with the call of the wolf, an ongoing theme throughout Suncastle’s discography. Hoppin’ Mad is a fast-paced attention grabber with memorable melodies, sweet harmonies, and a sizable serving of tension to set the tone for the rest of the album. Jackrabbits is a beautiful little vignette that acts wonderfully as a release to the built-up tension of the opener. Things move along so seamlessly to Zero Munchy Blues. One of my favorite aspects of a good Suncastle album is the sequencing and how each track drives us right to the next one. Aratron is another vignette that bridges the gap but is so memorable and catchy that it makes us want to come back for more, and then Bethor comes in and it all makes sense. A bit of atonality shift here, where things get a little darker and dirtier, and we’re happy to follow.

Unshrouded is another great example of releasing the tension of the previous track: expert album craftsmanship. Fast-paced good vibes that are carried over to Phaleg, which seemingly ends before it starts. Horrorscope changes up the tonality again to keep things moving and interesting. A wave of forlorn feelings washes over the listener until the very end, which kindly resolves and leads into the happy little groove of Och, another vignette that gives the forward momentum we’ve come to know and love. Hagith brings back some of the forlorn qualities with descending melodies and what I can only describe as the tears of synthesizers.

Let me point out that we are now eleven tracks into this Anthem of Plenty and it seems like no time has passed. We’ve been drawn in and enveloped by these meticulously crafted works. Petulant Phalanx, a great title by the way, is at least three tracks on its own and winds us through a range of emotions, to be followed by Ophiel, which does the unwinding, with simple laid-back positive vibes. Tripping Glade takes those vibes and brings the energy up a tick with heavily processed drums and a pop-influenced arrangement. Phul is the last vignette and neatly bridges the gap to the closer Laika’s Last Orbit. Here we encounter a familiar melody, in the fifth (and presumably last) rendition of this quirky tune. A perfect ending to a well-crafted album that is easily worth the price of admission.