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Album Review: Tonic, Sugar

Universal

In 1997, Tonic hit it big with their No. 1 single, "If You Could Only See," off their first album, Lemon Parade. The song got a tremendous amount of radio play and deservingly so. It was the proud declaration of Tonic's arrival in the music world.

On the second album, titled Sugar, none of the tracks reach the inspired greatness of that first single. Not to say that the album is overwhelmingly bad, because it is not. It is, indeed, better than the first. The first single, "You Wanted More," is reminiscent of the guitar-driven instrumentation of the first album and has an undeniably endearing melody.

Sugar is a well-controlled, well-produced album. It is an eclectic mix ranging from the sumptuously soaring "Future Saves Run" to the hard-edged mellowness of "Mean to Me" to the understated sweetness of the title track. Lead vocalist Emerson Hart's soft voice provides an interesting contrast to the album's at times brutal instrumentation, giving each song a pleasing well-roundedness that makes the album a good one for all those "Dawson's Creek" moments.

This is one of those albums whose songs will most likely find a place among the soundtracks of angst-ridden TV shows and teen movies. "You Wanted More" can be found on the "American Pie" soundtrack. This is not exactly a disparaging remark about Tonic's sophomoric effort, but just a comment on how the band's sound somehow taps into those feelings one gets when he or she is being pensive and musing on the greater things in life.

Either way, Sugar is sweet compared to the sourness of Lemon Parade. -Graig Uhlin