Sussex live up to the latter half of their name in their saucy new single and lyric video Under Your Tongue — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
While suggestive song titles and lyrics aren’t new or novel, the songwriting quality sometimes can say a lot or leave lots to the imagination with an engaging economy of words. This Quebec-based group raise that bar with their latest single, a toe-tapping jewel from their album Shine that should leave you with a wry grin.
“A hallmark of some of the great songs of the early 20th century is that they had all kinds of sex in them, but it was in expressions, images, and euphemisms… not blatantly in your face,” the band say. “Love — and sex — is the best medicine. And you put it Under Your Tongue.” In short, it has all the makings of a racy song but isn’t nearly as overt or lewd as some hit singles tend to be in various genres these days.
Under Your Tongue is a nifty little ditty that opens with some excellent guitar picking before ambling along with some romantic, old-school innuendo. Fans of John Hiatt or Mark Knopfler‘s delightful ’90s side project The Notting Hillbillies will lap up Under Your Tongue. Aside from Rob Lutes providing vocals and acoustic guitar, the single is highlighted by Montreal bassist Morgan Moore (Martha Wainwright, Barr Brothers), Moncton-born, Monreal-based pedal steel guitarist Joe Grass (Patrick Watson).
Written by Lutes, Under Your Tongue comes from Sussex’s latest album Shine, a 10-track record featuring Lutes and pianist / vibraphonist Michael Emenau. The album was recorded over four days at Montreal’s Alchemist Studios (formerly a chapel) and recorded and mixed by Michel Pepin (McGarrigle Sisters). It’s the followup to 2019’s The Ocean Wide and 2015’s Parade Day. More recently the band has performed in Ottawa and Montreal, while getting attention from the Toronto Blues Society and Roots Music Canada.
Both Lutes and Emaneau have come a long way from their days together in high school folk-rock tribute band The Hippopotamus Waterfall. While Lutes recorded eight solo albums before he and Emaneau reunited in 2012, Emaneau was no slouch, performing in Tokyo, New York City and Paris (where he made inroads as a composer and elite jazz vibraphonist).
Watch the lyric video for Under Your Tongue above, listen to the rest of Shine below, and visit Sussex on their website, Facebook and Instagram.
