Sugaregg
Sugaregg (stylized in all caps) is the third studio album by American rock act Bully. It was released on August 21, 2020 by Sub Pop.[4][5] Following two albums that were recorded by Bully as a band, Sugaregg is the first Bully album to be recorded as a solo project of frontwoman Alicia Bognanno. She co-produced Sugaregg with John Congleton and Graham Walsh, making it the first Bully album not to be solely produced by Bognanno.
| Sugaregg | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | August 21, 2020 | |||
| Recorded | 2019 | |||
| Studio |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 38:06 | |||
| Label | Sub Pop | |||
| Producer |
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| Bully chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Sugaregg | ||||
Background and recording
Following the release of Bully's second album Losing (2017), bassist Reece Lazarus and guitarist Clayton Parker departed the band, leaving lead vocalist and guitarist Alicia Bognanno as its sole remaining member.[11][12] Bognanno opted to continue recording solo material under the Bully name.[12] After having self-produced Bully's first two albums Feels Like (2015) and Losing, Bognanno decided to seek outside assistance in producing Sugaregg, as she felt that the quality of the music would be compromised if she continued to handle both songwriting and engineering duties by herself.[11] She enlisted John Congleton to co-produce the album with her, while Graham Walsh of the band Holy Fuck provided additional production.[4][13]
Bognanno said in June 2019 that Sugaregg would be produced "in a completely different way, on completely different terms... a lot has changed and I feel a lot better in every aspect of my life than I have in a long time."[14] That summer, she recorded the bulk of the album in two weeks at Pachyderm Studios in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, accompanied by Congleton and backing musicians Zachary Dawes and Wesley Mitchell.[4][15] Bognanno then worked on additional material for the record over the next five months, which she recorded at Palace Sound in Toronto, assisted by Walsh.[4]
The songs on Sugaregg were written by Bognanno "on and off" over a period of around three years.[16] She derived the album's title from an episode of the WNYC radio program Radiolab that profiled a man who preserved an egg-shaped mold of sugar, a keepsake from his childhood, for several decades.[16]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AnyDecentMusic? | 7.3/10[2] |
| Metacritic | 77/100[17] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic | [18] |
| Clash | 8/10[19] |
| DIY | [20] |
| Exclaim! | 7/10[3] |
| The Guardian | [21] |
| NME | [22] |
| Pitchfork | 7.7/10[23] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[24] |
| Rolling Stone | [25] |
| Under the Radar | 6.5/10[26] |
Upon its release, Sugaregg was generally well received by music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 77, based on 13 reviews.[17]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Alicia Bognanno.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Add It On" | 3:20 |
| 2. | "Every Tradition" | 3:25 |
| 3. | "Where to Start" | 3:00 |
| 4. | "Prism" | 5:02 |
| 5. | "You" | 2:24 |
| 6. | "Let You" | 2:54 |
| 7. | "Like Fire" | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Stuck in Your Head" | 2:08 |
| 9. | "Come Down" | 4:12 |
| 10. | "Not Ashamed" | 2:22 |
| 11. | "Hours and Hours" | 3:30 |
| 12. | "What I Wanted" | 2:45 |
| Total length: | 38:06 | |
Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.[27]
- Alicia Bognanno – vocals, guitar, bass, engineering, cover photography
- Angelina Castillo – photography
- John Congleton – engineering, mixing
- Zachary Dawes – bass
- Heba Kadry – mastering
- Wesley Mitchell – drums
- Graham Walsh – engineering, mixing
Charts
| Chart (2020) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Independent Album Breakers (OCC)[28] | 14 |
| US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[29] | 11 |
| US Top Album Sales (Billboard)[30] | 29 |
References
- ^ Boße, André (August 21, 2020). "Bully: Sugaregg". Musikexpress (in German). Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ a b "SUGAREGG by Bully reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ a b Currie, Jordan (August 17, 2020). "Bully Sounds Young and Alive on 'SUGAREGG'". Exclaim!. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e "Bully to release SUGAREGG on August 21st worldwide through Sub Pop, shares official video for lead single 'Where to Start'". Sub Pop. June 11, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ a b Hussey, Allison (June 11, 2020). "Bully Announce New Album, Share New Song 'Where to Start': Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Bully share new video for 'Every Tradition' from SUGAREGG (out August 21st)". Sub Pop. July 8, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "Listen to Bully's 'Hours and Hours,' a new track from her forthcoming album 'SUGAREGG' out August 21st". Sub Pop. August 5, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ DeVille, Chris (August 5, 2020). "Bully Share New Song 'Hours and Hours'". Stereogum. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ "Bully shares new single 'Prism' via The Fader – SUGAREGG is out next Friday, August 21st". Sub Pop. August 12, 2020. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ Ross, Alex Robert (August 12, 2020). "Hear Bully's cacophonous new single 'Prism'". The Fader. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- ^ a b Leivers, Dannii (August 19, 2020). "Bully on weathering a rough patch to make killer new album 'SUGAREGG': 'Things really plummeted for a while'". NME. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ a b Zoladz, Lindsay (August 18, 2020). "Bully's Alicia Bognanno Is Revealing Herself, One Rock Song at a Time". The New York Times. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Siregar, Cady (August 13, 2020). "Bully's Alicia Bognanno is allowing herself to fully enjoy the creative process". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Bruce, Kyra; Clark, Ty (June 19, 2019). "'I'm so honored. How touching. F— you.'". TulsaPeople. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ Hughes, Mia (September 9, 2020). "In Conversation: Bully". Clash. Retrieved May 27, 2019.
- ^ a b Kaplan, Ilana (August 21, 2020). "How Alicia Bognanno found peace, let go, and made a new Bully album". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ a b "SUGAREGG by Bully Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ Donelson, Marcy. "SUGAREGG – Bully". AllMusic. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ Hansen, Susan (August 25, 2020). "Bully – SUGAREGG". Clash. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ Tipple, Ben (August 20, 2020). "Bully – SUGAREGG". DIY. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ Aroesti, Rachel (August 21, 2020). "Bully: Sugaregg review – melody and candour in the great grunge tradition". The Guardian. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ Leivers, Dannii (August 20, 2020). "Bully – 'SUGAREGG' review: a bubblegum grunge soundtrack to making it through tough times". NME. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ Moreland, Quinn (August 24, 2020). "Bully: SUGAREGG". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ Horowitz, Steve (August 19, 2020). "Bully's 'SUGAREGG' Is Loud and Noisy". PopMatters. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ Ehrlich, Brenna (August 19, 2020). "Bully's Alicia Bognanno Lets Go and Lets Loose on 'Sugaregg'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ Matt the Raven (August 25, 2020). "Bully: SUGAREGG (Sub Pop)". Under the Radar. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
- ^ Sugaregg (liner notes). Bully. Sub Pop. 2020. SP1363.
{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link) - ^ "Official Independent Album Breakers Chart Top 20". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "Bully Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
- ^ "Bully Chart History (Top Album Sales)". Billboard. Retrieved May 26, 2021.
External links
- Sugaregg at Discogs (list of releases)