The Sugars - Gossip By Steve Rudd

They might be called The Sugars, but not everything about this band is sweet, for their confrontational rock n roll sound is dark and deadly in equal measure, as exhilarating elements of Blues and Soul creep into their arrangements to make their music all the more interesting and engaging. Released through Bad Sneakers Record, Gossip is a sensational tune, anchored by Alex Lewis's irresistible beat, a funk-tastic bass-line, and genuinely cool vocal performances from Matt Bolton and Anna Greenaway.

With Anna opening the lyrical proceedings, it isn't long before Matt makes himself heard as a whirlwind of guitar-based carnage sets the tone for intriguing Gossip of the most infectious order.

Lifted from the band's album The Curse of The Sugars, it is undeniably one of their finest tracks committed to CD yet. Backing up Gossip with attitude, a clutch of remixes of Way To My Heart barrel forth with all beats blazing, providing wildly alternative versions of a song which has long proved to be a firm favourite amongst hardcore fans. Skilfully produced by Will Jackson, a man who has previously worked with the likes of The Kaiser Chiefs, Gossip is bound to provoke music lovers to do precisely that.

For more information, please check out www.thesugars.co.uk www.myspace.com/thesugars Copyright © Steve Rudd 2009

thisisUll.com Featured Writer Steve Rudd
Click for Home Page	Click for Index Page

Single Reviews - Hey Negrita - You Can Kick Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	London-based boys Hey Negrita have been rightfully turning heads with their succulent blend of Blues, Rock and Americana since 2002, and this, their third studio album, helps to further cement their reputation as a highly original band par excellence. Right from the opening strains of Room Service through to the final chord progression of The Last Thing That I Do, the listener can't fail to be entranced by each and every track on this 12-song-strong wonder. Read more...

Single Reviews - Plough and Orion by Skinny Lister Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	Scheduled for release on August 24, this single from London-based outfit Skinny Lister is a simply divine song which deserves as much radio-play as it can muster. Anchored by an irresistible melody and a soothing vocal performance, it coolly tells the tale of two star-crossed lovers, detailing the intolerable cruelty of being away from somebody that you truly adore. A mid-paced gem of a tune, this is Alternative Indie-Pop as it's meant to be, with Read more...

CD Reviews - Winds Of Time - Glenn Williams and The Ullbillies (Lazy Swede Productions) By Jim Soars - Courtesy Of Maverick Country Music Magazine
	Hull's very own Glenn Williams is one of the hardest working composers and musicians in the UK country roots crossover genre. His latest release Winds of Time highlights his song writing credentials with ten new tracks making their first appearance. Again ably assisted by his regular band The Ullbillies that comprise guitarist / percussionist / keys Read more...

Album Reviews - Horse Guards Parade 'EP' (Download from iTunes) By Nick Quantrill
	Formed by former Salako front-man, James Waudby, Horse Guards Parade are one of Hull's hidden treasures. Describing themselves as 'psychedelic anti-folk', this debut EP is, as you might expect, a mixed bag of sounds and ideas. Lead track, As The Plane Lifted Its Wheels is a galloping number which sounds like the soundtrack to a fight in an old country and western movie. Read more...

CD Reviews - London! Paris! New York! Rome! - Andy Mackay and The Metaphors By Michelle Dee
	When you get sent a random CD from an unknown act doing covers, you may not hold out much hope. The track titles read like pretty standard stuff but there's nothing ordinary in the hands of Andy Mackay and the Metaphors. Five musicians, including current members of Roxy Music, Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson, who almost manage to disguise the original tunes completely. Read more...

Album Reviews - David Ward Maclean - Acts of Faith By Tim Roux
	David Ward Maclean's album Acts of Faith is a dark, pure act of profound courage, more a statement of loss of faith, or of an abandoned search for it, than anything as life-affirming as the title might suggest. 'cause these acts of faith are killing me and I still haven't seen a sign of anything that brings reason to this life.' In fact, the theme of the songs is Read more...

Album Reviews - The Alps ... Something I Might Regret By Steve Rudd
	The debut album from one of the most exciting bands in the UK right now, The Alps are not your average band, primarily because they extract the most appealing elements of the Pop, Indie and Rock genres and mix them up to stunning effect. As a result, this eleven-track LP is a veritable whirlwind of irresistible melodies and swooning vocal performances. Read more...

Single Reviews - Henry Priestman - The Chronicles of Modern Life (Island Records) By Nick Quantrill
	Quietly released on Stiff Records last year, the buzz around Henry Priestman's debut album has been steadily building over the last few months and rightly so. It's been a long time out of the limelight for the former member of The Christians, but the wait has been worthwhile. Dismissed by some press as a grumpy old man, nothing could be further from the Read more...

Single Reviews - Glen Strachan ... 8 Love Rivals By Steve Rudd
	It's hard to believe that British singer-songwriter Glen Strachan used to front Uxbridge-based Alt.-rockers The Bed, but it's true. The music that he's producing these days is a far cry from when bands such as The Smashing Pumpkins were influencing him to pump up the volume, because the eight bewitching songs that grace his latest album, Read more...

Single Reviews - Robert Prekop ... Dirt of Time By Steve Rudd
	Robert Prekop is a young singer-songwriter who is currently residing in Berlin. Anchoring the majority of his soul-stirring songs with compelling acoustic-based melodies, he is building a reputation for himself in the capital of Germany by playing at Open Mic nights where he airs his material. The demos of a batch of songs he has recently posted on Read more...

Music Band Biog - One Way Out
	One Way Out is a four piece electric blues band formed in 2005. Our music is influenced by the likes of Howling Wolf, BB King, Sonny Boy Williamson, The Rolling Stones and many traditional blues artists from the 1920s to the 1980s. One Way Out is: Brian Williams, Pete Sanderson,Thurstan Binns and Rob Goldberg Read more...

Album Reviews - KIERONONONON Three Man Party (Roxxor Records) By Michelle Dee and Bella Wykes (Age 11)
	Three Man Party by Kieronononon is the fourth release by three-piece outfit Orta, goatboy and floatstarpx. It delivers fuzz punk, electro junk, digitized DIY horror phunk; despite the typo on the CD. Spectral to Medieval metal influences abound on the six track EP containing intriguing titles that suggest snippets of odd conversation real or imagined. Read more...

CD Reviews - Mount Demo By Michelle Dee
	You never know when you get sent something out of the blue whether you are going to uncover a gem. Hassle opens with a funereal bass line that threatens to vibrate and shake the speakers to pieces. This auspicious intro is eventually followed by a splintered vocal coming from the wrong end of a whisky bottle (or the right end depending on your point of view) that then leans lazily sideways and suggests Read more...

Single Reviews - The Alps - Obstacle Race By Steve Rudd
	Taken from the Greenwich-based band's stunning album Something I Might Regret, this gloriously shimmering single is their sixth, and it's a heartfelt ode to a relationship that's going through bit of a rough patch. Such a thing is immediately obvious as frontman Daniel Heptinstall coolly croons, 'Lost in the shadows with no way out,' before going on to proffer a glimmer of salvation for the Read more...

Album Reviews - Circadian By Farino Reviewed By Michelle Dee
	Yet another act from the Purple Worm Records stable, Farino ask you to join them on an evocative instrumental journey with a lively Latino sound. With seven well crafted tunes overflowing with passion and technical prowess, Circadian speaks directly to lovers of the Spanish guitar. Circadian is filled with bright, florid multi layered refrains incorporating deft fingering, sunny harmonics and top end thrills. Read more...

Album Reviews - Chris Helme ... Ashes By Steve Rudd

The inspirational debut solo album from former Seahorses frontman Chris Helme, Ashes is a lovingly conceived and produced album of the highest order, having been recorded in Castleford by Ben Hammond. What's more, a hidden bonus track is sure to delight any Seahorses fans who pick up a copy... Kicking off with the emotionally intense strains of Morning Sun, it's hard to believe Read more...

Album Reviews - Filth Wizard - Spread The Filth (8-track album) By Steve Rudd

With this barnstorming, trailblazing release, Adam Towse isn't so much dishing dirt as flinging it. Indeed, Spread The Filth, as the title suggests, isn't for the fainthearted; it's down and dirty by default, and all the better for it. A bolder debut release couldn't have been conceived by the Bridlington-based band, a Metal band fronted by Torso Horse ringleader Read more...

Album Reviews - Warriors EP by The Good Natured Reviewed By James McGuire

When you open the parcel and you see the personalised touch taken in the making of the EP's, it makes you feel special to be one of the lucky people to own a copy. And if you thought the look was just the sweetest thing, it just gets better when you play the CD, as the Warriors EP is a beautiful blend of music and lyrics. If it was a smoothie, Read more...

Album Reviews - Satellite State Debut EP Reviewed by Steve Rudd

Producing soaring anthems for the masses, southerners Satellite State should be able to sun themselves silly on the strength of this four-track wonder: their debut EP. Anchored by undeniable commercial zeal and appeal, all four tracks are beautiful, not least opening tune Plans in which Gary Nicks on vocals allows his voice to take flight. Ciaran Stephens on Read more...

Album Reviews - Heartbroken by Abbie Lammas Reviewed by Steve Rudd
	A prodigiously talented singer-songwriter, Hornsea's Abbie Lammas might only be fifteen, but she's cranking out songs that are mightily mature for her age. Heartbroken is her debut album, and it's an eight-song-strong affair that perfectly shows off Abbie's talents. For the most part, the songs feature just her and her trusted acoustic guitar, though there are a couple of notable exceptions. Read more...