Detailed item info | Track listing | 1. Come Around
2. Tilted
3. Judas Cradle
4. Jc Auto
5. Feeling Better
6. Walking Away
| | Details | | Playing time: | 30 min. | | Producer: | Bob Mould, Lou Giordano | | Distributor: | Ryko Distribution | | Recording type: | Studio | | Recording mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
| | Album notes | Sugar: Bob Mould (vocals, guitar, keyboards, percussion); David Barbe (bass); Malcolm Travis (drums, percussion).
Recorded at The Outpost, Stoughton, Massachussetts.
Between the trance-like "Come Around" and the swirling "Walking Away," Sugar's second album, BEASTER (1993), is a sonic whirlwind that seems to function as a cathartic primal scream for Bob Mould, allowing him to exorcise personal issues. After a series of drum rolls, "Tilted," a grinding rocker barely contained by a pop structure, sets the stage for Mould's most furious work since 1990's BLACK SHEETS OF RAIN, while "Judas Cradle" is built on Malcolm Travis' pulverizing drumming, sustained, thick slabs of guitar, and clangorous feedback.
The record's centerpiece is the vicious "JC Auto," in which Mould sardonically recasts himself as Jesus Christ, questioning the sincerity of his followers. "Feeling Better" adds some synthesized horn sounds to the mix, while retaining the overall mood of the record, ending with the words, "There's nothing left for me to say / I guess it's time to walk away." By the time that "Walking Away" fades away, listeners are liable to notice that they haven't been breathing for a while. BEASTER is an astonishing 30-odd minute rollercoaster ride through dark places, and, without a doubt, one of Mould's finest releases.
| | Editorial reviews | Ranked #16 in New Musical Express' list of `The Top 50 LPs Of 1993' - ...a bloody but nonetheless spiritual and ultimately uplifting experience....
NME (12/25/1993)
9 - Excellent Plus - ...a definitive rites of passage record, which embraces big themes....the grimy, tormented flipside to COPPER BLUE...
NME (04/03/1993)
4 Stars - Excellent - ...depression has invigorated Mould to ringing heights of invention....his melodic instinct to head for the heights of epiphany remains intact....very bracing and oddly repeatable...
Q (05/01/1993)
Ranked #2 in the Village Voice's list of the 10 Best EPs Of 1993.
Village Voice (03/01/1994)
...less upbeat and accessible than the group's debut....But because BEASTER is more demanding than COPPER BLUE doesn't mean it isn't as much fun...
Musician (06/01/1993)
Highly Recommended - ...the songs on COPPER BLUE took him and band toward pop heaven, but thankfully Mould has kept in close touch with his screaming demons. And even though the guy's not that demented, he loudly wrestles with them here with great success...
Spin (06/01/1993)
Highly Recommended - ...the songs on COPPER BLUE took him and band toward pop heaven, but thankfully Mould has kept in close touch with his screaming demons. And even though the guy's not that demented, he loudly wrestles with them here with great success...
Spin (06/01/1993)
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