The illustrious Andee Blacksugar returns with his latest effort, In The City’s Arms. This offering is a double disc affair boasting 24 tracks and slathered in organic and processed sound, ensuring that the listener gets a healthy dose of sonic greens and sweets to keep the meal balanced.
AND quite a meal it is. A veritable buffet of sorts, touching on Punk, Rock, Glam, Alternative, Electronica, Pop…a fusion free-for-all, which leaves you humming a tune or two after just one listen. Opening track “Machinegun Sun” harkens back to classic sounding NIN. A gloomy opener for what winds up being a fairly bright record. However, the grey clouds continue to roll in on “California Time” which features the much-missed feature of a Sax solo. Soon after this the climate starts to change and lets a few rays of sun in. Heads bob and feet tap through tracks like “Puzzle” and “Angel In Front Of Me”. You’ve also got your traditional and snotty cuts like “All Yr Heroes Are Dead” in which Andee so spits the line like Richie Rich to a poor kid. And ending Disc One is title track, “In The City’s Arms”. An absolute triumph, which leaves you with chills and puts a glitter bow on a labyrinthine aural orgasm. And, that’s only the first disc!
BST – In The City’s Arms (back cover)
Disc Two features a more experimental approach to the vocals. Beach Boys, Bowie and lullabies are all juicy influences as this colorful coaster continues forth with key tracks “Fairie Spring” lush with its Jellyfishesque jangly guitar work and one of my overall favorites. “Flashbulb Disease” in which Blacksugar takes sharp shots at a generation obsessed with social media, shallow selfies and soulless music. (One word, Pornado!)
The opus ends with the simplest contribution to the album, “Stuck It To You”. A mostly acoustic track teaching us that often less is more.
There is plenty here for any listener of any kind. Andee, being an accomplished guitar player proves to us again that he too is equally versed in production, mixing and beyond. The album also does not suffer from the multitude of guest spots by fellow musical friends. It only makes it for an even more pleasurable experience. So, get down to the “City” and treat yourself to this collection of songs post haste. (*Hint, put your headphones on for this one!)
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