POPPING THE PILL

Do you remember the first few albums from the Red Hot Chili Peppers? They were funky and grooved with a wandering electric guitar over it all. Well, that’s how the opening track, “Higher”, off Sugar Pill’s Dose, sounds. But more like a rip-off. Lead vocalist Rick Abate is a horrifying mix between Ed Kowalczyk (Live) and David Byrne (Talking Heads). The rest of the band is talented, but they don’t do anything really innovative or remarkable. After the first few tracks you start to hear a whole different CD. The funk stops and you wonder if you’re listening to a Dave Matthews’ B-sides album, due largely in part to the addition of horns in odd places. I was surprised not to hear a violin or something else tossed into the mix. Maybe they save that for the live show. Dose sounds like a contemporary ‘80s band’s album that never quite got past the trademark sounds of the era. If you still don’t get it, let me put it to you another way: Go to your local tavern or pub on the weekend and pay the cover charge to get in. Look for older women dancing like they did in high school. Chances are the fellas will be out wiggling their fat asses, too. They’ll be having the time of their lives, and you’ll be crying in your beer, hoping that what you’re witnessing isn’t what your future holds. The band playing that night is probably Sugar Pill.
TO HEAR IT FOR YOURSELF, CONTACT THEM AT SUGARPIL@COLUMBUS.RR.COM OR VISIT THEM AT SUGARPILL.NET