STYX’s TODD SUCHERMAN Releases “Kindling” video (Elbow cover); ‘Last Flight Home’ album out now
SUCHERMAN explains why he chose Elbow’s “Kindling” to be the sole cover song on the album: “Right around the same time J.K Harrison was trying to convince me to do my own record, my wife, Taylor (Taylor Mills spent 12 years in Brian Wilson’s band), and I happened to be listening to Elbow’s LITTLE FICTIONS record. She said randomly and in the moment, ‘You’d sound good on this one if you ever decide to record something.’ I adored ‘Kindling’ and ‘Starlings’ by Elbow, and I think those are two of the most impressionistically romantic songs I’ve heard in recent years. With my version of ‘Kindling,’ I wanted to add a bit of a bigger, heroic moment at the end musically, and the end section is a big differentiation between the two versions.”
“Kindling” video
“Last Flight Home”
“Sacred Book of Favorite Days” lyric video
“The Damage” video
“Ad Lib Everything”
You can find a download link for the album, further info and artwork (photo credit: Ronn Dunnett) on his media page:
TODD SUCHERMAN LAST FLIGHT HOME album download link/media page (not for fans/publication/sharing):
Resident Styxologist Mike Mettler recently caught up with SUCHERMAN to discuss LAST FLIGHT HOME.
“This was literally something I always dreamed of doing, but didn’t know that I could do.”
Recording sessions for LAST FLIGHT HOME, which was co-produced by SUCHERMAN and J.K. Harrison, mainly took place between July 2019 and January 2020 at various locales in California and Texas, with Sucherman handling all lead vocal and principal drumming duties in addition to co-writing nine of the album’s ten songs. Over the course of its very concise and well-sequenced 42 minutes, LAST FLIGHT HOME soars mightily, from the universal longing of the title track to the grandiose, twisted orchestral circus vibe of “Ad Lib Everything” (buttressed by a majestic string section) to the heartfelt surrender of “It’s Perfection” (featuring angelic background vocals from Todd’s esteemed better half, Taylor Mills) to the edgier, self-inflicted carnage of “The Damage.”
In fact, LAST FLIGHT HOME is further proof that SUCHERMAN’s inherent musical chops and respect for the pocket run deep and true, a fitting testament for a man who’s made a career out of serving the needs of the song at hand above all else. As further evidence, Todd cites a few key drummers he admires as being highly influential for how he approached his playing on this album — namely, the likes of Ringo Starr, Phil Collins, Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention), and Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel).
Listeners expecting a Methods & Mechanics-flavored drum clinic will be in for a bit of a surprise when they cue up LAST FLIGHT HOME — albeit in a good way. “Fans of complicated, fast, and tricky drumming are probably going to be disappointed,” Todd allows, “but I hope that fans of music will enjoy this record. I know that Styx music affords a lot of room for a lot of playing, but I always try to play musically anyway. Having the singer’s perspective this time was interesting, because there were a couple of drum moments I had planned that I thought would be cool from a drummer’s perspective. But when I went to play them, they were wrecking the song. I wound up editing my parts so the song could breathe and live better, rather than using it as a platform to show how clever I am.”
