Minneapolis outfit Suzie is one of the more interesting bands to surface onto the scene within the last year or so. Headed by singer/songwriter, Mark Ritsema, Suzie’s catalog of music ranges from glittery dream pop, to glamorous indie rock. There’s guitar twang, nostalgia, warm and fuzzy production. There’s also keyboards, for when Suzie is feeling like channeling their inner-80's influence and churning out a prom ballad. However, Suzie’s music has one defining goal in mind when it comes to crafting music, and it’s evident with every song they record. Will it make you dance?
Last year, the group’s debut album Deluxe gave indie music the simple pleasures of dance through music. This year is no different, it seems, as Suzie’s latest single, “Analyze Me,” proves to be a dreamy-pop banger. The song features Claire De Lune singing through a barage of synths, stadium-esque drums and echoes of guitars swimming through reverb for Suzie’s latest effort. It’s also a lead single off the group’s upcoming album, Pressure, due out August 31 on Forged Artifacts.
Mark Ritsema had a few words to share on the song:
"Analyze Me" was conceived from a misheard Drake lyric. On just hold on we’re going home when he says “I want your hot love and emotion ‘endlessly’” I misheard it as “Analyze Me.” When I realized that it was different I was like “okay that’s a cool kinda funny concept for a song, I’ll write it”. It’s about the idea of commitment and knowing what you want in a relationship, but your mind telling you to turn the other way. The internal vs external relationship we hold with our loved ones. We have the surface level, real relationship with people we love, but in addition there is the deeper and often darker aspects of those relationships that are kept hidden and unknown from the other and even from the self in the subconscious. The song was created with that idea; wanting the other to access those areas, to broaden the scope of the relationship and to communicate those often overlooked, yet infinitely complicated areas of what lies beneath.
I’ve always loved Claire’s voice and the song was far out of my register. We linked up on this track because we had been trying collaborate in the past and this felt right. She has told me that she has trouble writing happy sounding songs and I think we are similar in that way. Not afraid to get dark.
Pre-order Suzie’s Pressure over at the band’s official Bandcamp. Sift through Suzie’s YouTube to view other excellent visuals produced by the band.
