Sticking To Their Guns
Ten years since forming and Ayrshire trio, Sucioperro are onto their fourth album, the first on their own label, Medals For Everyone and one which finds the band stepping away from the almost pop tinged sentiments of previous album, The Heart String And How To Pull It in favour of full out rock. Part rock genius, part stark raving mad, the aptly titled Fused seems to take all the best qualities of Sucioperro and literally, fuse them together. It's in your face rock with a heart thumping, make the hairs on the back of your neck stand to attention allure to it that is inescapable leaving you no choice but to buckle up, sit back and enjoy the ride.
Fused isn't an album that likes to beat about the bush leaping straight into the abrasive, brash and pulsating arena with opening track, A River Of Blood and as can be expected from a song with such a title, this is no cheery little ditty aiming to pack the dance floor on a Friday night. Pounding with a fuzz fed menace that snarls and bites with glee, A River Of Blood is a gigantic hunk of rock, rammed with layer upon layer of riffs that don't just grab you by the scruff of the neck to gain your attention but procced to throw you around the room as lyrics spit "You fucked me up but I'll fuck you"; blistering rock seems something of an understatement. From the brash to the infectious, the Ayrshire trio almost do a full 180 as To Nothing eases off the anger supplementing it for catchy hooks and finger tapping beats whilst retaining that hint of darkness and threat that make the trio so compelling. It's the more sedate, Rabbits In Boxes where Sucioperro's true genius shines through. Hauntingly beautiful, Rabbits In Boxes almost oozes into your subconscious, dishing out tender moments amongst heart achingly raw lyrics before exploding in a rush of distorted riffs that will leave you breathless and itching to hit the play button once more.
Whilst Fused may essentially be a chunk of smoldering rock held together by a slab of blistering riffs, no two tracks are the same, making for an interesting listen. Where At Dat Wild At all but bounces by on a jaunty psychedelic strut that is entirely left field compared to the rest of the album and with more of a Marmaduke Duke feel to it, but strangely, Sucioperro makes it work, allowing it to easily slot in with the rest of tracks effortlessly.
A Decade after forming and Sucioperro are still doing what they do best, making the music they want to make and giving the middle finger to anyone who thinks they should do otherwise. That's not to say Fused isn't faultless or entirely perfect, some tracks do get lost in the crush but those that hit the mark do so exceptionally and whilst it might not be a commercially accessible offering from the Ayrshire three piece, there may just be a touch too much anger and probably one too many uses of profanity to get the tracks played on national radio but who cares? This is music with bite, music that knows how to rock and will make sure you have fun whilst listening to it, all you need to do is whack the volume all the way up and enjoy.