Release Date: August 27th 2021. Record Label: Small Pond Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl
The Live Long After - Tracklisting
1.I Am Not Now, Nor Have I Ever Been... 01:49
2.Shouting Judas At Bob Dylan 05:01
3.Fat Dracula 03:36
4.Phil Spector In Hell 08:06
5.The Live Long After 08:00
6.Terrible Things Are Happening As We Speak 06:03
7.The Great British Death Cult 06:07
8.Dadcore World Cup 08:49
9....A Las Vegas Showgirl 09:12
Members
Drums - Martin Savage
Bass - Chris Howarth
Baritone Guitar, Keyboards, Synths, Gruff Shouting - Jake Healy
Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals - Ashley Tubb
Strings (Dadcore World Cup) - Mari & Craig Campbell
Fart Library - Andy Hawkins
Review
UK Weirdo Sludge Rockers Sugar Horse is a very hard band to describe. The band move across different styles of Hard Rock and Metal whilst ignoring the rules and genre conventions of whatever style they use. Their debut album The Live Long After is a LOUD, RAUCOUS, BOLD and EXTREMELY NOISY AFFAIR. Sugar Horse use elements of Post-Hardcore, Noise Rock, Post-Metal, Doom Metal and Sludge Metal for a muscular style of music with the majority of this album being mostly experimental. Shades of OCEANSIZE come to mind for this album when they start moving between the quieter moments of Post-Rock sounds to the more frantic atmospheric sludge parts of the album.
Maybe Sugar Horse take a Melvins based approach with how the music is put together or even BORIS to some respects but there’s a lot to breakdown on this album especially with songs such as: Shouting Judas At Bob Dylan, Fat Dracula, Phil Spector In Hell, The Live Long After and the gloriously ridiculously titled Dadcore World Cup.
I’m still not fully sold on the glitches and different breakdown beats this album contains but there is a method to the madness contained on this album. It does add an uncomfortable feeling in places but one that allows the band to elevate their overall sound onto a deeper and threatening level.
Another welcome aspect to this record is the shoegaze elements which is the strongest part of the album and acts as the “GLUE” that holds everything together. The vocals are a mixture of harsh growls, clean and screamo vocals.
The production is superbly handled and allows Sugar Horse to shine on their own creative merits. The album is always forward thinking and the songs sound strikingly different to each other. If you’re in the mood for an experimental album that focuses on both the melodic and heavier grooves then Sugar Horse is most definitely worth checking out.
The Live Long After is an essential release and could mark the arrival of a very important band within the UK Experimental/Doom/Sludge Metal scene.
Words by Steve Howe
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