Tuesday October 9, 2001

SUGARBOMB

BULLY

(RCA)

Grade:

B

In the flurry of rock-pop recently emerging, SUGARBOMB, with their new album BULLY, is a lighthouse in the ridiculous storm of pop music.

This quintet, straight from Fort Worth, Texas, takes its influences from groups such as the Beatles, Queen and the Electric Light Orchestra. With help from Mark Endert, who produced for Fiona Apple, Vertical Horizon, Semisonic and Madonna (just to name a few), this album has the potential to establish SUGARBOMB in the pop music industry. This summer, the group toured with bands Eve 6, Cheap Trick, Cowboy Mouth and SR-71.

The name SUGARBOMB hints well toward the band's musical style. It's sweet and poppy, but still has the hard-rock sound to it. The music varies, and sounds like anything from the giddy, poppy "Total Request Live" music to heavy rock 'n' roll.

Currently, 35 radio stations nationwide play the band's single, "Hello," which debuted on the Billboard charts at No. 36 on the Top 40.

For those looking for the best of the old with a new twist, this is it. These boys wrote their own songs - with great lyrics and fantastic harmonization - to produce a Weezer-esque sound, including great guitar and nice mellow lyrics. The songs were written with real quality that takes a slow harmonic set into a crashing guitar bonanza. Each song is completely different from the one before it, and each has its own edgy sound. Songs like "Mail-Order Girlfriend" and "Motor Mouth" accent this album and create a new earful of catchy lyrics and great chord progressions.

This up-and-coming band and its new album are truly unique in sound and lyrics. It's definitely worth picking up.