A-Sun Amissa - We Are Not Our Dread (2025)

A-Sun Amissa are a group in a permanent state of metamorphosis. Relentlessly pushing forward, shapeshifting and presenting their unique noise in new ways and on their own terms.

We Are Not Our Dread is the groups eighth studio album and it sees a move away from the maximalist avant-rock of 2024’s highly praised Ruins Era into a world of unsettling drones and claustrophobic atmospheres. It’s a deliberate and natural shift that highlights the musical chemistry the current line up has developed over the past two years. Founding member Richard Knox is again joined by Luke Bhatia and Claire Knox, marking their third release together as a trio.

The records washed out and ethereal sound drags electric guitar, clarinet, voice and piano through pillows of reverb and distortion to build heaving, desolate dronescapes. Moving through dense, oppressive passages of sound and diffusing into sections of gloomy, haunting restraint. We Are Not Our Dread is filled with majestic, textural detail. It envelops and, at times, smothers you before releasing just at the right moment, resolving in a billowing, melancholic, distorted reverie.

Some words from Richard Knox about the record.
“The initial ideas for this record were born out of a desire to react to the insanity of our previous album ‘Ruins Era’. That record was 70 minutes long and pretty much every track on there had 100 different audio parts and so much going on. It came out great but it was a real nightmare to put together and mix and perform live.

With ‘We Are Not Our Dread’ I wanted to return to something more ambient and drone based but pushing that approach through the direction this group has developed over the past couple of years. It’s still as intense as ever in my eyes but in a different way. I wanted to work quickly and not overthink things too much. Trying to find and capture those beautiful moments was important, first takes were used almost exclusively, leaning into those little moments of magic that can often disappear from a record with overthinking and too much time.

Not repeating ourselves is a hugely important aspect of what we do and because of our DIY approach to every part of this project it enables complete freedom in how we work and what we make. This is crucial in keeping the work interesting, rewarding and most importantly, continuous.”