Before listening to a single note of Suris’ new album, “Pertinax”, I spent a few minutes just looking at the word. Pertinax. It has the distinct ring of a Stoic philosopher’s last defiant utterance or maybe a type of beetle known for its unusually stubborn shell. What a curious flag to fly for a collection of songs in an age of fleeting distraction. But...

NTGB. Sunderland. DIY. Okay, got it. This “BURN DOWN THE NOW” single – it’s got teeth. Not sharp, pointy canines, more like the comfy, slightly crooked ones you find on a friendly stray dog. You know the type? https://open.spotify.com/album/5IA3vdLaZ15d2t7J3Pf2m3?si=umch_E8JQM6i9rmaUCYqfQ The sound itself, it’s that indie-pop-rock thing, but there's a pulse beneath it. Something like that old dial-up modem hum that always felt like the universe was...