Top'o'the'mornin'to ye!
Before today's prescription, here is a little haiku. Just for you! (You know who you are!)
It begins:
"Haiku's are quite strange
and sometimes they don't make sense
refrigerator"
Yes, let's just block that from our collective memories, shall we? I'm a doctor, not a Japanese poet, for butt's sake! (No offence, Japan. You are a fine country. Much better than America.)
Oh, and yes:
Band: Sugar Army
Album: The Parallels Amongst Ourselves
Descriptors: Disregard the somewhat 'wanky' name of this album (and their equally 'wanky' band photos, should you have the misfortune to wake up next to them one morning). These guys can play, and play well.
This album is a strong, yet not classic, debut. Whilst I would still classify it as alternative pop/rock, certain areas veer noticeably towards the...*gasp*...mainstream. This is best exemplified by tracks such as, "No need for lovers", and the two bland ballads that mar this otherwise decent listen.
What really makes this worth prescribing are the moments when they really hit the mark in darker, punchier melodic territory. Tracks "Tongues in cheeks" and "Acute" are catchy, frenetic numbers that feature stop/start riff-age and precise, driving percussion. Also worthy of mention is the vocal refrain "we are all the same, we are" employed in "Acute". Very...nice.
Indeed, Sugar Army are at their best when they venture into more syncopated, complex territory ("Maybe the boy who cried wolf was just paranoid"). Sadly, a few tracks on this album are not up to the same standard as the aforementioned three. It's a shame- what could have been a "classic" is relegated to "well worthy of your ears". Hopefully, they can address this in their next release.
Regardless, I remain pleased to be able to prescribe this to you, dear patient. Inject it directly into your ears, trim the superfluous tracks, and you may find that you have added a great, albeit edited, mini-album to your musical pharmacopeia.
Tally-ho!
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Trust me, I'm a doctor!
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