Audiopile Review: After a 5 month wait since being sent into orbit upon hearing the digital-only release of ML Buch’s Suntub, we’re beyond ecstatic to have finally gripped the physical incarnation of this stunning album. Technically her second album, Skinned, the 2020 digital-only debut, got the ball rolling with its melding of sci-fi tones and Oneohtrix-inflected digi-pop. Though Skinned did seem to stir a bit of interest upon release, at least with the permanently online “ambient twitter” set, Suntub has been a well-deserved breakthrough for Buch. The album was garnering high praise from all corners almost instantly after Suntub’s arrival on the streaming channels in the final quarter of ’23, the momentum eventually landing her on some noteworthy year-end lists despite not having a physical release. A frantic queue for the vinyl release quickly ensued, resulting in this first pressing selling out at the source before even landing in shops. It’s hard not to draw comparisons to her Danish counterpart (and recent shop infatuation), Astrid Sonne, the pair simultaneously prodding at the edges of mainstream sensibilities, each with their own idiosyncratic approaches. But while Sonne only occasionally side-swipes into hospitable zones, Buch takes this flirtation further and dives head first into the wider reaching world of dream-pop, spinning a fantastical whirl of glassy guitar tones, airy synths and honey-dipped vocals. Spied through her own hypnagogic lens, Buch manages to touch upon late ’70s jazz-rock (think Hejira), ’80s AOR and 4AD-style dream-rock across these 15 tracks. Despite the dreamlike quality to Suntub, there’s a particularly clean and burnished feel to the album. Her highly stylized fretless guitar snakes between the punchy programmed drums and her meticulously layered vocals, every aspect produced with near-mechanistic clarity. Anyone who falls for this (we reckon many of you just might) will certainly have their own take on what this reminds them of, which is always a sure sign of someone who has struck upon something truly unique. Suntub is that record. Cannot recommend this one enough!

‘Suntub’ is the second full length album from ML Buch, a double record of 15 pieces by the Danish composer and producer, entering further into the realm of electric guitars and layered vocals along with exploring new instrumental expressions.

With an offset in open tunings on a 7-string Stratocaster, slide and fretless tablet guitars and deep-sampled virtual guitars, the album draws up narratives and locations in a distant time. Props like puddles, well buckets, bone barrels and flesh rags live in these scenes, suspended in air, drifting about, climbing stairs and ladders, all given life through guitar sensibilities and visceral vocals.