Dead Confederate - Sugar (2010)

Sugar is the second full-length album from Athens, Georgia based band, Dead Confederate. It was recorded in Hoboken, NJ with producer John Agnello (The Hold Steady, Dinosaur Jr., Sonic Youth) in early 2010.

Although they billed themselves as psychedelic Southern rock revivalists, Dead Confederate sounded more like a holdover from the post-grunge days on their 2008 debut. Sugar doesn’t completely dispel the notion that Hardy Morris spent his childhood listening to Nirvana’s In Utero, but it does take its cues from a wider range of genres, including garage rock and swampy alt-country. The result is a solid sophomore album, with muddy guitars and loose arrangements that push the group closer to their intended sound. Producer John Agnello, who made his name recording albums for Dinosaur Jr., the Screaming Trees, and the Drive-By Truckers, keeps things appropriately hazy, particularly in the reverb and echo that coat Morris’ vocals. The biggest difference between Sugar and 2008’s Wrecking Ball is the speed, though; while Wrecking Ball occasionally lapsed into grubby, dirge-like tempos, Sugar keeps things moving along, with shorter song lengths and punchy choruses that lend a sense of urgency to the band’s guitar-driven sprawl. The guys still place more emphasis on mood than movement, but they’re learning how to create atmospheres without resorting to stoner rock, which makes Sugar a step in the right direction.