FDF Vol 1 Issue 84 - Sugar - Beaster

Album - Beaster
Artist - Sugar
Key Players - Bob Mould: Guitars, vocals, keyboards, percussion. David Barbe: bass. Malcolm Travis: drums and percussion
Produced By - Bob Mould and Lou Giordano

Release Date - April 1993.

What caused me to blow off the dust? - I heard a Sugar tune on the radio and said "its been a while"

Overview - Sugar was a return to a "band" for Bob Mould. The former Husker Du vocalist/guitar player had released a few solo albums and, at times very dark, were also more acoustic based. Sugar was a return to the "rock" formula. The power trio would release a few records (really only 2 full length studio albums), and sustain themselves as building blocks for the alternative rock that was bubbling up at this time.

FDF Comments (aka the songs) - Acoustic guitars waft over the top of the intro to "Come Around". The guitars are heavy, yet somehow restrained at the same time. Bob sort of howls over the top. "Tilted" opens a lot heavier with the guitars in overdrive and the drums hitting and driving the track forward. Bob is in fine form vocally, and Husker Du fans feel right at home. "Judas Cradle" is another heavy track with soaring guitars and vocals. The drums hit hard, and the buzz of one guitar layerd over the whole track can sometimes take from the track, but it does add to the kick. Floor toms and bass drum bring up "JC Auto" (short for Jesus Christ Autobiography). The band wastes little time in gearing down and hitting the guitars. By the chorus it get a little lighter, but still very poppy in hard rock sense (does that make any sense?). The guitars form a wall as the track fades down but its a short fade before the catchy "Feeling Better" comes up. This song almost feels out of place. The chrirpy keyboard line is sort of quirky to say the least. There a few instrumental break downs that allow for a bass fill, but the crunch of the guitar is the most fun. The band seem to have a lot of fun on this (the longest as well) track of the album. The album, also told to have "religious imagery" through out closes on a track that is lead with a pipe organ sound and sort of echoy vocals. The 3 minute track "Waking Away" is sort of a cast off, it doesn't do anything to help, or hinder the ep.

Where are they now? - Sugar disbanded in 1995 after David Barbe expressed his desire to spend more time with his family. Malcolm Travis continues to perform music, currently he is the drummer in the band "Lucky 57". Bob has continued to write and perform. His new disc is out in the USA on February 5, 2008.


FDF Personal Comments (aka the Live experience) - I never saw Sugar live.

FDF Overall Take - For an ep its pretty good slice of the offerings from Sugar. These songs were recorded at the same time as the first album "Copper Blue" but many seen it as a darker and heavier record. For just over 30 minutes you sort of get it all laid right out. Bob was quoted as saying (regarding this record) that "Sometimes the experience of making music, or listening to music, shouldn't be overanalyzed and dissected". Enjoy it for what it is.

Links

Lucky 57 on myspace
Bob's myspace page - here
Bob's Blog - here
Bob's Offical Page - here

Curious? Check out some MUSIC!

**Mp3's have been removed**

Tilted
JC Auto
Feeling Better

All tracks taken from "Beaster" which you can buy here


Disclaimer - For the most part songs listed you can find on iTunes or your local cd shop. The idea is to give you a little taste of the music. Please support the artist buy purchasing some of their work. Songs are posted for about 1 week but can and will be removed at the request of the artist, band, band management etc. If you are one of those persons contact me via the email link in the profile and they will be removed as soon as we are made aware of the request.