There was a good reason that our grandparents tried to ban it; from the insouciant hip
swivel of Elvis to the iconic, burning stare of young Jimmy Dean, the vibrant spirit of rock n' roll has been always been about rebellion, a Dionysian obsession with youth and the pain of a broken heart.
It's a spirit The Sugars have. Originally from Leeds - the band remain on the city's Bad
Sneakers label - but since dislocated to London, Anna Hathaway, Matt Bolton and recent recruit Alex "Uzi" Lewis have shackled the primordial, swampy blues squawk of The White Stripes to the doe eyed sweetness of fifties bobbysox pop. The resulting album is archaic but contemporary, welding the aforementioned blues with slivers of Mariachi, doo-wop, and Vegas lounge ballads, a beast described enigmatically by the band themselves as like "Bobby Bland duetting with Shocking Blue".
Produced by Will Jackson (Pigeon Detectives, Cribs, Kaiser Chiefs, The Music), and preceded last month by their anvil strength new single "Black Friday," The Curse of The Sugars has been almost four years in the making and draws it's inspiration directly as they put it from "Blood, sweat and tears. The reality. Not the band".
One look at their intensive live schedule instinctively says it's the kind of blood, sweat and tears which can only be shed on the road too. Their support slot CV makes some reading. Indie fashionistas The Long Blondes? Check. Hobo turned blues demi-god Seasick Steve? Check. Chintzy lounge balladeer Richard Hawley? Check. To hear The Sugars in full flow it would appear is to love them. And all this surely makes perfect sense, because as one angular Brit told us many years ago, "It's only rock and roll - but we like it."
The Sugars Album The Curse of The Sugars is released on Bad Sneakers records on Monday, July 9th.
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