Album Review: Sweet Jane – Sugar For My Soul
We loved Sweet Jane’s debut single ‘Close Your Eyes’ when it came out earlier this year, so when ‘Sugar For My Soul’, the band’s debut album dropped on our doormat it was met with some excitement. Opening with both ‘Bleed’ and ‘Close Your Eyes’ from that debut which successfully blended psych rock with dream pop, you’d be forgiven for thinking you were in for an enjoyable but predictable journey. But you’d be wrong!
Though they clearly have a foot in the psych rock camp, and the Jesus and Mary Chain are an undoubted influence – especially in the vocal stylings of both Lydia and Danda, ‘Sugar For My Soul’ is here to prove Sweet Jane are no one trick pony. From the Americana tinged ‘I’ve been Waitin’ to the Velvets inspired ‘You’re Making This Hard’, the album is full of surprises. The biggest surprise of all though is the sublime ‘Don’t Hold Your Head So Low’ a beautiful, rousing ballad that’s guaranteed to lift your spirits – if ever I get on Steve Lamacq’s show it’s a shoo-in for my bad day track! For an album with so many treats, other highlights include the adrenalin pumping rock of ‘Where’s Your Money’ and the chilled out, romantic ‘Save A Little Place’, ‘Sugar For My Soul’ couldn’t be a more apt title! 9/10
Mark Cousens
Out now on Reekus Records
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