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SugaRush Beat Company - SugaRush Beat Company (RCA)
UK release date: 29 September 2008
4 stars
SugaRush Beat Company - SugaRush Beat Company

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track listing

1. Walking A Way
2. Love Breed
3. SugaRush
4. Oh Lord (Take Me Back)
5. They Said I Said
6. Ladies 'n Gents
7. L-O-V-E
8. The Number One
9. No Parking
10. Jesus Come Near
11. All Of A Suddenly
12. Gunshots 'n Candyfloss
13. The End

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Gone are the days of the local band. This, at least, must be a thought to consider after listening to the headily cosmopolitan concoction that is the SugaRush Beat Company. Take one third Australian rhythm master, a shot of robust American coco and a tall measure of Danish diva, shake it up in London and you have yourself a refreshing blast of international musicality.

Having had a very warm welcome into the industry from various impresarios including Jools Holland and Mark Ronson (they remixed his and Amy Winehouse version of The Zuton's Valerie) these guys should be on top of record buying lists. Please note, this is especially applicable if recent releases by Prince, OutKast or Gnarls Barkley already feature on any given album collection. If there also happen to be Parliament, Stevie Wonder or Earth Wind and Fire then listeners will be in for a treat if they take advantage of these SugaRushes.

Opening track Walking Away sets up expectations for an epic movement comparable to any one of Prince's screaming opus and you can't really argue against this for style. But then their second bid for our attention, Love Breed, verges on sounding like a simple euro electro dance track that got lost with Avril Lavigne's producer. Somehow the bells, guitar and synth work surprisingly well together and so things pick up.

Unsurprisingly their first single was L-O-V-E. It is an undisputed highlight being soulful in the original sense of the word. The tickle of the piano repeats a familiar Motown-motivated phrasing and is a magic old school addition to the track. As the song swells, the strings incrementally invade the atmosphere adding richness, powerful bass supports the funky brass then the gospel harmonies overwhelm the ear with its feel-good bop and hope.

They Said I Said encapsulates the reason why the merry trio got together. The playful clapping and electro wobble come right out of Jaz Rogers songbook while the attitude and playfulness are attributed to Rahsaan 'RAH!' Patterson and the feisty deliver from lead vocalist Ida Corr.

No Parking is a typical SugaRush Beat Company track. It takes up where Gnarls Barkley innovated and broke pop barriers, so to call it 'filler' would be harsh but it doesn't shine on the album. Ladies and Gents and The Number One are the most conventional RnB tracks but don't deter from any enjoyment, after all it's not only the sonic aptitude that the SugaRush Beat Company possess that nudges the heart up a gear.

Lyrically the album is astute, eloquent, referential, critical and heartfelt. Gunshots and Candyfloss with the dark tones of drum and bass already deployed elevates the urban imagery and issues around youth crime. The Ends attempts at profundity, although at times erring towards pretension, are eventually quite balanced thanks to the simple ideas at the heart: "In the end all that's left if the beginning" doesn't come across as lofty but rather optimistic.

Although it is strictly far away from being evangelical the high hopes also draw attention to a religious thread in the work, Oh Lord (Take me back home) uses blues, gospel and soul to lament the distance in time and place from cultural centre that was and is Harlem. Similarly, Jesus Come Near asks for support in hard times but the suggested spiritual base is truly twisted through the music.

The group are successfully leading an energising effort through difficult times. They comfort and cajole with their bouncy, velvet, funky, honeyed, soulful, bop-pop. This could be on top of many a personal playlist for a long time to come.


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