Artist......: The Kelley Deal 6000
Album.......: Go To The Sugar Altar
Source......: CD
Label.......: Bitter Sweet
Genre.......: Indie
Tracks......: 11
Bitrate.....: 820 kbps avg
Playtime....: 00:30:56 (189.MB)
Rls date....: 2021-07-01
Store date..: 1996-06-10
Encoder.....: FLAC 1.3.1
Url.........: http://www.kelleydeal.net/
01 Canyon 3:10
02 How About Hero 2:43
03 Dammit 2:40
04 Sugar 4:17
05 A Hundred Tires 1:48
06 Head Of The Cult 1:51
07 Nice 3:31
08 Trixie Delicious 3:12
09 Marooned 2:08
10 Tick Tock 2:00
11 Mr. Goodnight 3:36
Given that it was Kim who was famous (or at least known first), it was
bemusing that Kelley came up with the truer follow-up to Last Splash, at
least in terms of standing up to repeated listening. Compared to the Amps'
ultimately go-nowhere Guided By Voices worship (and attendant limitations),
Go to the Sugar Altar had the crisper rock punch mixed with some surprising
but effective experimentation. The first song alone has a steel drum as a
lead instrument, and why not? Everything takes a turn -- from castanets to
Casio keyboards -- thanks to various guest players (including Jimmy Flemion
from the notorious Frogs), and the result is one of the few albums of half
an hour in length that honestly shows a real sense of range and ability.
Snaky blues, high and lonesome country, full-on punky thrash -- it's all in
here and all sounds pretty good at that. Meanwhile, Deal's core band does a
pretty good job replicating the sharp-edged charge of the Breeders, though
there's not much in the way of immediate individual flair from the players.
Deal herself, though, is a treat, her familiar, sarcastic, and wry approach
suiting both the lyrics and her distinct way of singing. (Another key
difference from the Amps: Kelley doesn't bury or distort her voice the way
Kim did, or at least not most of the time.) Her ear for choruses that are
catchy in spite of themselves works like a charm -- "How About Hero" in
particular is a winner. Throw in everything else from the angelic overdubs
and quiet guitar that start off "Dammit" to the semi-Lee and Nancy
melodrama of "Trixie Delicious," and the result is an underappreciated
treat.