Sugar Army

Trying to describe Sugar Army is both joyfully easy and nightmarishly hard. On the one hand you can talk in hyperbole and superlatives, and cover the essential description that the band is quite unarguably beyond compare, but to try and describe their sound in detail is infinitely more difficult.
As you listen to The Parallels Amongst Ourselves, you'll come to understand just why this is the case, and that it is a very cool problem to have. Right from the spine-tingling opening of Parallels, it's pretty obvious that this journey is one into unfamiliar territory; Complex drum patterns somehow manage to form simple, primordial beats. Gain-drenched guitars somehow manage to form eerie, ambient overtones. Lyric-heavy vocals somehow manage to create soaring anthems that everyone can sing at the top of their lungs. Things that normally shouldn't work, work. The band's song-at-a-time approach to recording The Parallels Amongst Ourselves allowed them to release singles as they came to life.

The first,"Acute" was a burst of white-hot energy that resonated Australia-wide with its infectious bass line and sheer Mantra of a chorus; but it wasn't until follow-up single "Tongues In Cheeks" did Sugar Army truly announce themselves. Dark and intense, it was the flipside of the coin. Yet, as revealing as these songs appeared to be, it is clear now that they have given away nothing of the weird and wonderful experience that is the album as a whole. Absorbed as one inclusive work of art, listened to from start to finish, The Parallels Amongst Ourselves is like watching a movie. There are twists and turns around every corner, and the mood is almost palpable.
As a collection of individual songs, the album is up there with any debut you can pick as being an instant classic, the album to which all subsequent albums will be compared. Sugar Army have been ruthless in making sure that every second of every song is their best work. Given this, Sugar Army are inviting you to listen in your own time and at your own pace to an album they couldn't be more proud of, and more eager to share with anyone with an open mind and a pair of ears. What you take from this experience is forever yours to keep.
VITAL INFO
· The Parallels Amongst Ourselves was produced by Dave Parkin at Blackbird Studios from February to April 2009 and is available nationally through Shock.
· First single 'Acute' won WAM Rock Song of the Year
· Second single 'Tongues In Cheeks' was Channel [V] Ripe Clip of the week and won the WA Screen Award for Best Music Video.
· Third single 'No Need For Lovers' was #1 most played track on triple j September 2009
· The band opened the main stage nationally at Big Day Out 2010, and performed at Homebake, Pyramid Rock and Southbound over the 2009 / 2010 summer and has supported the likes of Interpol, Karnivool, Gyroscope.
· Sugar Army were nominated for eight WAMi awards in 2010 including Most Popular Act and Most Popular Album, the most nominations of any WA band ahead of the likes of Karnivool, Eskimo Joe, John Butler Trio and Gyroscope.

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