Sugar Army -Where Do YouHide Your Toys EP

Thu 15th May, 2008 in Music Reviews

You should never judge the contents of something by its cover. This lesson is particularly important when looking at the cute Care Bears adorning the cover of the debut EP for West-Australian quartet Sugar Army, Where Do You Hide Your Toys. There is nothing sweet about this release. The songs instead sound mechanical and military-like – while in general coming off a little like a mix between the Queens Of The Stone Age and Gyroscope.

The record begins with cowbells and culminates with some cymbals crashing, juxtaposed by what sounds like a mobile phone interfering with headphones. Some other oddball sounds ensue, particularly during the penultimate track, Actually, It’s What’s On The Outside That Counts. For a brief moment in this, the instruments tightly align and sound like a ball bouncing. This is added to the shredded guitar and apparitions that litter the remainder of the song.

Thus, I need not add that the EP makes use of some interesting noise. What is disappointing though, is that in addition to these exciting flourishes, two sounds are over-utilised. These are a distinct, low rumble and intense alarms that really plague the songs. This is unfortunate because what could have sounded like Joy Division’s Insight being propelled by a Ferrari, is instead spread thinly across all six songs – albeit, in varying intensities. It annoys rather than engages.

However, there are some better moments in the form of the cleverly titled, Maybe The Boy Who Cried Wolf Was Just Paranoid. A peculiar and novel concept, the lyrics are sung on behalf of the character from the fable. Opening with a chorus of humming, it sounds like a group of monks decked out in black robes are descending upon the listener. Meanwhile I Got Your Soul is a cacophony of dirty bass, crunchy guitars and sprawling drums. However, that could be used to describe the majority of the contents.

In sum, the release is a sound one, with loads of potential offsetting the disc’s faults. Nevertheless, it is a bevy of noise packaged into a six-pack slab of pure rock, which will satiate for the most part.