As debuts go, The Curse Of The Sugars is pretty sweet. Bursting with a retro energy that the band call ‘gospel grunge’, the Leeds trio prove themselves well worthy of the buzz that's been surrounding them.
Despite an unexpected assortment of influences - rock and roll, indie, surf-punk, 50s R&B and disco beats - the album doesn't pull in too many directions at once. There's something kitsch, almost vaudeville to the singing at times, but added distortion and a punk sensibility give a rather addictive experience. And although they owe a strong debt to the past, producer Will Jackson (who has also worked with The Pigeon Detectives and The Cribs) ensures that The Sugars' output is dark, twisted and above all, fresh.
Signed to talent-spotting label Bad Sneakers, the band sound like musical extras from a Tarantino movie. Two contrasting front-persons; guitarist Matt Bolton and bassist Anna Greenway share the singing duties on vein-melting duets like Monsters, and they're brilliant together. Bolton's tenacious tenor crooning is a perfect foil to Greenway's deceptive innocence, which in itself is not dissimilar to Meg White's vocal.
Opener Black Friday is a perfect example of the party dynamic The Sugars create, with Bolton's vocals soaring over noisy guitars and pounding drums to form a punchy melody about frustrated love. The doo-wop rhythms of Heaven Knows are far prettier, while Way To My Heart gets dirty, fusing Bolton's excellent vocal pipes with a punk bass line and tropical guitars, as reminiscent of old Havana as modern day Leeds.
By the time the album ends on You Better Go - a gorgeous ballad with strings sung by Greenway - there's no doubt that a great live act have made a seamless transition to record. This despite losing their original drummer to a wrist injury two weeks before the studio date. Last minute replacement Alex Lewis sits in more than adequately, playing relentlessly through this classy, blues drenched debut.
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