SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: BLACK SUGAR TRANSMISSION – DREAM FINISHER

Black Sugar Transmission
Dream Finisher
Independent

Three full albums in a year is an amazing achievement for any artist, and to have left the best for last is almost as remarkable. Andee Blacksugar is usually classed as post punk or electro pop, but this artist has a great affection for Motörhead, and in this album the guitars are definitely back.

Lead single “Twatted” is outrageously commercial, it has some guitar licks that take the listener back into the era of glam rock rather than punk, and it is one that will be in the loop on my player often.

At certain points the album almost reminded me of early Queen. Some of the guitar touches took me back, and in troubled times the album provides lighter touches.

The tracks bump and grind more than previous offerings this year. There is more bass (provided by Adam James) and perhaps as 2020 comes to its closing stage the world needs more destructive rock and electro rhythm.

In one interview Andee noted how there are still people left who want to listen to the long-playing aural snapshot that is represented by the album. What he provides is not a one-off song to download and add to the playlist, but an actual musical adventure in the style of the storytellers of old. If you can listen to the three albums back to back you are taken on a journey that culminates with this release.

Two real standout tracks are “Easy Way” and “On a Prayer Trapped”. “Easy Way” is the album opener and it sets the pace showing that the album means business. In a way, the download is almost too clean a manner to listen to this, It needs vinyl with the crackle of a needle on the grooves. “Easy Way” kicks off with drums and cymbals before a groove that is seriously smooth, a solid mix of the electronic with the guitar. “On a Prayer” is slower, a bit more funk. I loved the vocal harmony on this one and the infusing of background vocals with the central sound.

So this is the one! Andee really has finished a busy year on a great high and this album deserves to succeed.

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