SugarDEAD CONFEDERATE

Sugar

[Tao Recordings/Old Flame]

All the unflattering Nirvana-meets-My Morning Jacket comparisons heaped upon its 2008 debut didn’t do Dead Confederate any favors. Fortunately, the Athens, Ga., quintet doesn’t sound much like either band on its sophomore album, Sugar. Recorded in New Jersey with producer John Agnello, the record has a tough sound built around muscular guitarscapes and terse, stripped-down songs. On “Run From the Gun,” singer Hardy Morris’ voice sounds at first like it’s coming through a megaphone outside your house—and he’s getting ominously closer. “Quiet Kid” is anything but, with thick layers of scuzzy, overdriven guitar obscuring Morris’ vocals. The bold, bright single “Giving It All Away” features crooning harmony vocals and a massive, scorching guitar solo from Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis. Call it a stamp of approval, and one that is well-earned: Sugar is the sound of a promising rock band coming more fully into its own. –ED

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