Sugar Horse-The Grand Scheme of Things album review and awesome deep dive with Ash.

 

Sugar Horse-The Grand Scheme of Things album review and awesome deep dive with Ash.

I was super stoked when a chance came to review the new album from Bristol four-piece Sugar Horse(whose earlier works I adored) and the opportunity to interview their vocalist/guitarist Ash. The review is below, but the conversation was as dazzling and deep as the album.


Sugar Horse-The Grand Scheme of Things.
What a perfectly named album. Nine sizeable, well monolithic tracks that impressed the fuck out of me. And as in the interview and as per this presser, the band sought to not simply release an album that was a copy of their earlier work:

On Grand Scheme Of Things, Sugar Horse comment: "This album was intended to be a sideways step. A move away from the kind of thing that is expected of us… if anything is at all. What I mean by that, is the songs are more direct. They take a much shorter amount of time to “get to the point”. We also wanted to make this one noticeably “less Metal”. While we love being a bit boneheaded and confrontational, we definitely wanted to explore the more melodic, song-based side of the band’s sound. Normally you’d see shortened song structures and more singing and think “Oh these guys are going for gold….they wanna get on the radio and make millions of bloodstained pounds.” Well…you’re very much entitled to think that if you wish, but it felt like more of a songwriting challenge than anything else to be honest. We’ve done the whole drawn out, endless Space Rock thing a good few times now and it would’ve been easy to rest on those laurels. Do something we’re comfortable with. Alas, that is not really the point of this band. We’d much prefer to make it difficult and take the long route."


The S/T opener gives you a doomy shoegaze slice and this treat almost, yes almost fools you into a false sense of straight-up bliss even via a post-metal filter. And as epic and great as this track is, prepare for so much more. The Shape of ASMR to Come is stunning in its dramatic Britpop(think Suede/Marion etc), and the song structure is sharp and the build-up is intense and bold. This like most Sugar Horse tracks is punctuated by visceral emotion and grim tone. Echo, reverb and that cathedralesque vocal presence all make the audio gift shimmer with confidence. Impressed, hell yes. This compelling album has stunning tracks that are impressively radio friendly in a Doves or Embrace-styled anthem-like manner; like the glorious Corpsing and Jefferson Airplane Over the Sea and the ones I just discussed. But the weighty meat on the bones are the other tracks. These gems serve as a counterweight or a weirdly pleasurably balance between dark and light, melodic and heavy.

Mulletproof has the lovely low key entrance that twists into a drone based sludge theme, but the vocal insanity grabs you by the throat from the 2-minute mark. This ballistic transition is a reminder these cats are still, very,very heavy the tone is so darkly doomy, it makes your skin peel back. Spit Beach has even more schizoid aggression and the bass and drums literally explode out of your speakers as well as truly menacing riffs and blood-curdling vocals. Is this Uk's Chat Pile, quite possibly?. New Dead Elvis is more a of a journey, mixing the two skills this band excels in the melodic and the crushing. I loved the post-hardcore feel on this; gave me chills to hear such harmonies that were equal mathcore meets top-shelf indie pop. Easily one of the finest hours on this astounding album. Although Office Job Stimulator is so gripping in its storytelling, tension and pompous heaviness. The stadium rock touch to this was outrageous as well. 


Closing out is a track that some critics crucified for no logical reason. Space Tourist is a sky-high peak for both this release and the band for a few reasons. First, if you are familiar with the band; this track is far from a minor episode; this is a blockbuster track for the ages; because it showcases all the styles/artisan skills the band have in their arsenal. For a band that declares themselves, "A decidedly average band", this juggernaut of a song goes so many places in the mindfuckingly brilliant manner. Secondly, the harmonies contained within are sensational, the drone wig-out episode is wild and utterly necessary. And, it is fun and a flaming flag on the battlefield. It screams we have the skills, the attitude and we set the narrative. Stunning release and every track is colossal.



BUY IT NOW:

https://sugarhorse.bandcamp.com/album/the-grand-scheme-of-things

GREAT INTERVIEW WITH ASH FROM SUGAR HORSE


Fantastic chat with Ash about the new album and all things Sugar Horse. He was a genuine bloke, unafraid to go deep on the band. Excellent insight on on of the best current bands around. 

We chatted about:

-what styles dominate the band

-obvious post-metal/sludge influences

-how far the band have come in a short time


(WHAT A LINE-UP EH!!!)

-importance of artwork and lyrics

-the brilliant cover art for the new release

-we discussed the variety of the tracks on the album

-THE POSSIBILITY OF THE BAND MAKING IT OVER TO AUSTRALIA...PLS PLS PLS

and much more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lia0u62xS_0

(as always our interviews are via our YouTube platform)

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