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The second official album by Sugar is from 1994. No breaks for this band, up until 1995, their last year of existence. The sound, after the very angry EP "Beaster," has returned to commercial, realigning with the debut of "Copper Blue," actually softening further in intentions as much as in results, continuing their short but fast run towards emocore.
The initial "Gift", however, seems to betray what I have stated, boisterous as it is; "thankfully" the chorus, with those typical Bob Mould harmonies, brings everything back to more catchy levels. From there, there are pop-punk episodes that are not out of place but "aligned and covered," like "Your Favorite Thing," all in chorus and based on the beauty of the first (and only) riff, like "What You Want It To Be," paced with beautiful clean guitars and a groove that seems like Bowie's "Heroes." Or again like "Gee Angel," the funniest, most frenetic, and at the same time the most predictably pop-punk episode.
For this genre, there is a planned alternative not hardcore, but rather the guitar-driven and traditional pop, semi-acoustic of ballads and campfire-worthy songs, like "Panama City" and especially "Believe What You're Saying," worthy of "If I Can't Change Your Mind" from "Copper Blue."
Whether we like it or not, Bob Mould's (almost) total shift towards pop cannot be criticized outright, just because it doesn't please us. We can choose whether to buy, listen to the album, that's for sure. For those who chose/were chosen to listen to this album, possibly without knowing who the singer/author was (or, knowing his name, ignoring his history and career), there was nothing left but to appreciate the well-played songs by a band in great form. Enjoying an album with all decent tracks, but lacking strokes of genius, as well as chart-breaking singles.
Certainly, the poignant finale of the concluding "Explode And Make Up" and the sound of the initial "Gift" would have suggested far greater potential in this author... But we are talking about other times, other albums. And another band.
Tracklist and Lyrics
01 Gift (04:14)
I
Received this gift from you
Pleasantly surprised, I never thought you'd realize
that maybe
I
Have taken this from you
If I was deserving, who am I to disagree
How can I refuse this, even if I don't deserve it
And now,
I give this gift to you
Could have got you anything, but this will have to
do
It's how
I give this gift to you
It doesn't seem like much, but it's the best that I
could do
I'm giving everything away before I go for good
And once you give the gift away
There's nothing you can do about it
Nothing that you do or say
Can change the way I feel about it
Try to look inside of me
To find the gift that I am giving
Glad you had a chance to see
The gift that I'm delivering
02 Company Book (03:45)
Everyone loves the company man
With his company book in his hand
The songs inside the company book
Do not deserve a look
They are rules in and of themselves
Everyone knows the company man
He lets etiquette play his every hand
Maybe 20 years ago
He didn't show
His love of rules in and of themselves
In the epilogue the company man
Takes his company life with his company hands
In his revelation he decrees
Extinction of faceless robots like himself
Spawned from the company book
05 Gee Angel (03:56)
Got a set of wings that I couldn't use
Bout them in a store on the avenue
Didn't mean to spend all the cash I had
The second that I saw them, I wanted them bad
When I got home and I tried them on
I noticed that the wingspan was way too long
Couldn't take them back, there was no return
I should have gotten more, I was feeling burned
Gee angel, won't you take these back?
Gee angel, gee angel, I need some slack
There's nothing in this world that I'd rather do
Than buy a wet of wings and fly away with you
Climbed up the mountain, observed the view
But angel wouldn't say what I had to do
Then angel flew away and left me standing there
I knew I couldn't fly, but I didn't care
06 Panama City Motel (04:07)
Don't you know I need a place to stay
Only fifteen bucks a day
I didn't want to end up here
But now I guess I need to stay
River red, runs like lead
And the smell of kerosene in my head
Stuck in here in this shithole
Reading foreign magazines instead
"But senor, I only have ten dollars,
Can't you give me a room for the night?"
We argue about currency and then
He says I can stay for the night
In this Panama City motel
I am out on the freeway again
A woman approaches in Barcelona
Walking down the Diagonalia
Spaghetti concrete overpasses
I keep grasping for something familiar
07 Can't Help You Anymore (03:29)
I can't help you anymore
You can't hurt me anymore
Don't care how bad I feel
Still holding on the wheel
I've felt like this before
Been sleeping on the floor
You say you've had enough
Don't try to wake me up
I can't help you anymore
You can't hurt me anymore
Don't care if you're upset
I'm trying to forget
I feel like walking out
Don't want to talk it out
You say your life's a mess
I need to get some rest
I've had enough of feeling slighted
I've had enough to last a lifetime
I've had enough, and I've decided
I can't help you anymore
You can't hurt me anymore
09 Believe What You're Saying (03:56)
This is where the line is
That I've drawn across the sand
And this is where my heart aches
Unaware and in my hand
This is where it's gone
This is where the heartache's going on
I can go it alone
I can't believe what you're saying
I've got to leave for you're sailing on and on
I can't repeat what it's all about is wrong
I can't believe what you're saying
This is how the time goes
In an ordinary town
And this is how it all ends up
When you run the whole thing down
This is how it's gone
This is how it's already gone and I know
You keep going along
10 Explode and Make Up (04:54)
Heart holds mouth to words
Said it's gone beyond the line this time
Eyes twitch close
Numb the lights turned out I'm out
The cold is in my bones
Said it's gone beyond the line this time
Shake a little off the deep end
Tell me when it's over now
I hate you
Explode and make up
Threw it in the yard
Burned it in an ashtray
I don't need you
Even though it's all made up
Put it in your box and put it
Show me how you been
Said it's been so long, I don't recall
Used to be this way
That's the way it always seems to go
Tired and walked away
Said it's far when you don't have a place to go
Where'd you go
Tell me where am I supposed to go
Here we go, here we go again
There you go, there you go again
As the years
They go slowly bye and bye goodbye
After you, lead the way
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