Soundbites
By Vasiliki Marras
April 21, 2004 9:00 p.m.
Sugarcult
“Palm Trees and Power Lines”
Fearless
Regardless of relying on every pop-punk convention ever
conceived, Sugarcult’s new album, “Palm Trees and Power
Lines,” might bring some needed credibility back to a genre
that has been hijacked by tattooed boy bands and MTV in the past
few years. “Palm Trees and Power Lines” breathes new
life into the tired formulas of pop-punk, utilizing three chords to
write a listenable record infested with hooks and memorable
choruses. With the exception of two overly ambitious tracks
designed to resemble Nirvana and one blatant Ryan Adams rip-off,
the album consists of punky anthems you would hear pouring from
your 15-year-old female cousin’s bedroom now that the Clay
Aiken phase is over. The album starts with the upbeat
“She’s the Blade,” and while it conforms to the
basic verse-chorus-verse formula, it mixes enough pop with rock to
make the song interesting. The weakest songs on the album are the
Nirvana-esque tracks “Crying” and “What You
Say.” These songs lack the energy of the rest of the
album’s poppy flair, and fall completely flat in comparison.
Sugarcult needs the sugar-coated injection of punk to keep its
music sweet to the ear, and its absence is sorely felt on the
band’s less melodic creations. As a whole, the album is
surprisingly well written, produced and executed. Creating
distinguishable pop-punk is a difficult task these days, especially
with so much material flooding the scene. “Palm Trees and
Power Lines” does a great job sprucing up pop-punk without
deviating from the conventions that encompass it. -Vasiliki
Marras
