Album Review: Sugar Army - Summertime Heavy

For a while, it didn't seem likely that Sugar Army's second album would ever see the light of day. Lauded nation-wide for their debut album The Parallels Amongst Ourselves, the Perth outfit spent the majority of 2009 on the road, culminating in a spot on the national Big Day Our tour. However, as they began to bunker down to write album number two, bass player and founding member Ian Berney dropped something of a bombshell in announcing he was leaving the band to join the behemoth that is Birds Of Tokyo. This left remaining members Pat McLaughlin, Jamie Sher and Todd Honey not only bereft of a bassist, but also with several crucial decisions to make. Should they take their bat and ball and head home or continue forward, essentially uprooting their writing techniques in the process?

Gladly they decided to carry on, the result being their fantastic second record Summertime Heavy. An altogether more subdued effort than its predecessor, Summertime Heavy is a record that employs ebb and flow to an almost fanatical level. Still present are the chainsaw guitars and pounding percussion so synonymous with Sugar Army, but to the bow is added several new strings. Will You Follow employs an infectiously repetitive riff under hypnotic hooks that reveal themselves more and more with every listen, whereas Small Town Charms looks to a more industrial palette with striking results. Elsewhere, the title track rolls out some gentle acoustics and focuses on the mantra that “summertime heavy is taking its toll”. It's no coincidence that the album is titled for this particular phrase as you get the feeling it was a tough few years for Sugar Army. With a record of this quality though, things should start to get significantly lighter.