Sugus

Highschool Revenge (2004)

Jim

Damn, why I didn't I take Spanish instead of French? Sugus' entire press release is in Spanish, so the only real thing I learned from it was that their drummer bears a striking resemblance to Rick Steiner. Luckily, with a bit of searching I at least had an idea of what this band is about. Apparently, Sugus had been on hiatus for a while before this release; although I can't tell you what they sounded like before this hiatus, they sound pretty tight at this point.

I had this album pegged as Lookout-styled pop-punk as soon as I looked at the cover, and while I wasn't totally off-base with that assumption, Sugus brings a bit more to the table. The first song "Mario Quiere Ser Prestidigitador" seemed to confirm my suspicions as a simple but very catchy pop-punk song with group vocals in all the right places. However, the subtly named "Gonna Die It's Revenge" has more of a skate punk or hardcore vibe to it. The band counts both the Teen Idols and the Teen Idles among their influences, and bits of hardcore can be heard throughout the disc. While the music treads familiar territory, it is very catchy, and the harmonies have a way of getting stuck in your head. The lead vocals are a bit too high-pitched at times for my liking, but generally, they lend themselves well to the music.

There aren't any huge flaws to be found on this disc, it's just solid punk rock. Highschool Revenge isn't going to redefine punk for the new millennium, but is a catchy record full of memorable songs, which is more than I say about a lot of other albums. There aren't any really spectacular moments that blew me away on here either, but it's still worth a listen.