For anyone who was lucky enough to see Sugar Horse at ArcTanGent 2023 will know this band is capable of creating something quite special. Towards the end of their set, vocalist Ashley Tub announced that they would play one last song but it was a long one. What they played was the track(s) that make up the EP, Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico. The band, said themselves that they didn’t want to fit a traditional song structure so they split the track into easily streamable chunks but in reality, it is one song.
The EP opens with ‘I – Truth’, a haunting isolated vocal harmony that builds slowly and carefully, leading into a minimalist riff and a slow crescendo. On ‘II – Or’, Tubbs’ vocals explode alongside a thick sludgy riff, showcasing his ability to switch between harsh, anguish screams to soft, soaring vocals. The band’s ability to change tack along with it, mixing chugging thick riffs to discordant lead guitar. ‘III – Consequence’ is far more of a gentle, melancholic track and has a post-rock feel to it, with the monstrous riff and screams of ‘IV – Comma’ giving a more angry edge to proceedings.
‘V – Neu’ sees the bass take over the riff and is overlaid with some nasty, almost grungy guitar. Some shoegaze guitar noise fills out the track and leaves you wondering where it might go next. The one advantage of this style of writing is that not having to neatly time box tracks mean that things are allowed to develop and blossom, things that would usually be edited out. ‘VI – Mexico’ reprises the riff from ‘II – Or’, leading us nicely back to where we started. Slightly fleshed out in this guise, the band gives it full bore before descending into noise, before fading away.
Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico builds on from their debut LP The Live Long After and the band’s varied buffet-style approach to genres and sounds but they have let themselves explore some themes and things are given space to breathe. The band have the skills to back up their vision, Tubbs’ vocals range from soaring and tuneful to harsh and the rest of the band adeptly follow along taking the listener through a wide range of feelings over the length of the EP. It’s a refreshing change from the endless stream of generic heavy music from bands with scary-sounding names. The band’s press mentions self-pity and being self-referential, that might be partially true but I wouldn’t let that put you off
