Sugar Daddie "Hell or High Water" CD
[Thorp]
Here's some heavy, midpaced, sludgy rock from Philly with some of the burliest throaty vocals I've ever heard. I don't even know how to describe the vocals... they're like strained growled yells or something. Very unique. Musically these guys are definitely rocked out with some of that southern rock flare to the rhythms, but it's not generic. Some of the riffs are definitely commonplace, but for the most part something about this is a little bit out of the ordinary. The solos are the most blatantly rocked out elements, especially when they bust out the 70's sounding dual guitar harmonies. Imagine a combination of earlier Alabama Thunderpussy and later Clutch (the latter of which especially comes to mind as far as the lyrics and vocal arrangements are concerned). I'd say the main setback here is that the songs tend to sound too similar to one another and there's not a lot of tempo variation or anything like that. Almost every track runs about the same length and sticks within the same range of tempos, so even though things are over relatively quickly, it can start to drag a bit. The production is alright, but it sort of sounds demo-ish. I don't know. It's raw in a way that I can tolerate, but it doesn't offer up the texture or density that would really benefit this band. I love the bass tone, but the drums are a little bit too muddy, while the guitars are somewhat thin by comparison. I really like the vocals a lot, but there's some separation in the mix that keeps the vocals from really exploding. Something in there's overloading the levels, too. I think it's the kick drums and maybe the floor tom, because when the drums slow down and start to get intense things get a little shaky and distorted. The outer portion of the layout looks great. The paintings of burning ships on the front and back cover fit the title nicely, and I like the little tattoo design on the back of the booklet as well. Inside the booklet things look a bit sloppier, what with the one band photo being oddly distorted, and the lyrics being printed in two totally different fonts than are used anywhere else in the design. The lyrics are pretty whacked and I like the way they're put together, though. "Let's tango like Romeo and Juliet, Silver spoons and a temple of doom, You best guard your family jewels, Like Oliver Twist on a mission from hell, Rich man singin' the blues, Eatin' caviar from a peanut butter jar, My Lexus will double as a Pinto, In a timesharing condo with some playboy bunnies, Baby can you do the fandango?" Bizarre! Not bad. With a bit more energy and a more appropriate sound these guys could make some noise. (5/10)
Running time - 28:24, Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: 90 Proof Romance, Rock of Gibraltar]
Thorp Records - http://www.thorprecords.com

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