Sugarcoma - Becoming Something Else

Be Something Else reminds me of Mudhoney with a velvet-voiced female singing instead of Mark Arm... being molested by someone who thinks he's Glenn Danzig. Overall, Sugarcoma's effort is pretty good. The guitars are warpy (say the word and twang it- That's what the guitar sounds like) and the riffs (what a word) are fuzzy in a good, sadistic kitten way, and the lyrics are fair. But, um, get rid of the screaming dude in the background. I feel bad for saying that, because he's the only guy in the band, and I like guys, honest, but after you get the harmony on "Last Orders", home skillet's screaming leaves a lot to be desired. See, my "specialty", when it comes to music, is one of two choices: the grunge scene (circa Seattle/ Minneapolis 88-94) and the Zeppelin saga. After that, I jump around a lot. Luckily for Sugarcoma, their album falls right into the category of the former segment, and has (probably) gotten their name from a Hole song concerning lots of lackluster sex themes ("Just Like You"). Bonus. The bass lines and the vocals are right up to par with That Dog ("Stitch It Up"), and the lyrics are like really stoned Fastbacks ("What Goes Around")... But then the guy screams. There's even some jaded, Imperial Teen anthems tucked in there ("Because September Ended")... But then the dude screams. We get super-gargled drum n'pedals in songs like "Start of the End", which is fun... But then the guy screams. There's a quote in the Michael Azzerad book about Nirvana, Come As You Are talking about how Kurt Cobain had the uncanny ability to scream on pitch or to yell on key or something like that. When you interrupt your otherwise pretty groovy track with screams, it's cool with me, especially when you have corrosive, glimmery, Brit vocals prior. When you interrupt aforementioned music with a raspy, icky scream, I just don't find it kosher. What's wrong with the scream? It's not emotional enough, deep enough... Doggone it, it's just not good enough. It breaks up a certain level of monotony, but it's weak. It makes you laugh. I dunno, I'd have to play it for you- I'm certainly not going to tell you to get it yourself... Especially with (and remember the screaming man) the most puzzling Britney Spears cover ever. Well, maybe I would, because our ladies of the band are very talented, and the album is something that's right up my alley...But then the guy screams. [www.sugarcomaonline.com]