Album #224: Bully – SUGAREGG

• Released: 2020
• Origin: Nashville, Tennessee, USA
• Label: Sub Pop
• Best Track: Add It On

Last Friday was a pretty good one for new music, but I didn’t get a chance to listen to much over the weekend, so I’m getting my first fill of Bully’s third album today.

I haven’t heard this band-turned-solo project before and thought it was a debut before reading up. I’m not sure how they’ve escaped my attention as they serve up a very decent blend of pop-punk and grunge.

I absolutely love the opening track ‘Add It On’. A real banger to get things underway, with Alicia Bognanno’s vocals hoarse and confrontational.

You do wonder if she leaves her voice with anywhere to go after that. The answer is a little more mellow on tracks like ‘Prism’ and potential feminist anthem ‘Every Tradition’, and more melodic among the crunchy guitars of ‘Like Fire’.

There’s something I really like about her song titles as well. ‘Where To Start’, ‘Let You’, ‘Hours and Hours’ – they’re not exactly genius but they carry a Dinosaur Jr. like weariness, with ‘Hours and Hours’ complementing that worn down sound best.

Very hard to fault SUGAREGG. ‘What I Wanted’ is maybe not the strongest of closers, but it’s still a record without a bad track.