Canadian indie band Suuns are an experimental, aesthetic-led bunch who formed part of a wave of impressive music from Montreal emerging around the turn of the last decade. Their brand of quirky minimalism explores soundscapes, lurching between melodies in this kind of disparate, dismembered approach to music.

It’s not the most accessible of sounds, then, though things have got a little easier to connect with over recent albums. Instead, the four-piece delve down dark alleyways of texture and nuance as they look to indulge… Well, mainly themselves. But a lot of the best music is a slave to no one, right?

I asked singer and guitarist Ben Shemie all about the decade-long journey so far…

It’s been six months since the release of ‘Felt’. How do you see the album now you have a bit of space from it? Have you got used to people calling it ‘happy’?

I still kind of feel the same about it. To be honest, I haven’t listened to it. It’s probably our most concise work, our most mature and complete work to date. don’t get the ‘happy’ thing too much, but mostly it’s because I meet people at our shows and our show is a different thing. It’s looser and more unpredictable.

The general consensus seems to be it’s the most accessible record in a while. Do you care about that kind of thing when you’re writing?

Not really. I think it’s more about making something that resonates with you, and that you feel represents yourself and what you are going for. After that, it’s really out of your hands if people get into it or not. I think it’s nice to be completely uncompromising in our vision and still make a record that is our most accessible to date. I think that’s quite an achievement.