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. For Rothesay, New Brunswick-originating but now Quebec-based group Sussex, they have raised that bar with their latest single “Under Your Tongue,” a toe-tapping jewel from their album Shine, which should leave you with a smile or 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 says regarding “Under Your Tongue.” “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 Mark Knopfler, Knopfler’s delightful ’90s side project The Notting Hillbillies, and John Hiatt’s honest if blunt deep cut “Little Head” would lap up, er, enjoy “Under Your Tongue” from start to finish. Aside from Lutes who provides vocals and acoustic guitar, the single is highlighted by Moncton, New Brunswick-born and Montreal-based pedal steel guitarist Joe Grass (who has worked with Polaris Music Prize-winner Patrick Watson), and Montreal-born and based bassist Morgan Moore (Martha Wainwright, The Barr Brothers).
“Under Your Tongue,” written by Rothesay, New Brunswick-born and Pointe-Claire, Quebec based singer and guitarist Rob Lutes, is the follow-up to their previous single “Shine Down Every Day.” A lyric video was also released for “Under Your Tongue” which simply shows an LP being played on a record player during the tune. The single is from Sussex’s latest album Shine, a 10-track record the tandem of Lutes and pianist and vibraphonist Michael Emenau (who like Lutes grew up in Rothesay, New Brunswick but is now based in Montreal) wrote most of the material for. Shine, recorded over four days at Montreal’s Alchemist Studios (formerly a chapel) and recorded and mixed by Michel Pepin (the McGarrigle Sisters) is the followup to 2019’s The Ocean Wide and 2015’s Parade Day. More recently the band has performed in Ottawa and Montreal in support of Shine 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 a high school folk-rock tribute band called the Hippopotamus Waterfall. While Lutes recorded eight solo albums prior to he and Emaneau reuniting in 2012, Emaneau was certainly no slouch, performing in Tokyo, New York City and Paris (where he made inroads as a composer and elite jazz vibraphonist). Now, thanks to “Under Your Tongue,” Sussex are guaranteeing fans another fantastic listening experience that has staying power. It’s a song that’s hard to pass up.
