Beaster
| Beaster | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| EP by Sugar | ||||
| Released | April 6, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | The Outpost, Stoughton, Massachusetts | |||
| Genre | Alternative rock | |||
| Length | 30:51 | |||
| Label | Rykodisc, Creation Records | |||
| Producer | Bob Mould, Lou Giordano | |||
| Sugar chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |
  |
| Robert Christgau |
 |
| Pitchfork Media | (9.0/10) |
| Rolling Stone Album Guide |
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| Q |
|
| Select |
 |
Beaster was Sugar's 1993 EP. The songs were recorded at the same time as the band's acclaimed first album, Copper Blue however, it has a much denser, heavier sound than that record. The EP is a loosely conceptual work built around religious imagery.
"JC Auto" is short for "Jesus Christ Autobiography." The Judas Cradle, also known as the Judas Chair, was a torture device allegedly used by the Spanish Inquisition.
All tracks written by Bob Mould; except where indicated.
All songs written by Bob Mould and published by Granary Music (BMI)
Produced & engineered by Bob Mould and Lou Giordano. Recorded at The Outpost, Stoughton, MA. Mixed at Carriage House, Stamford, CT
"I'm sure some people are going to perceive this as some sort of step backwards from the previous album. Some people will say it's self-indulgent. Almost anything short of community service usually is. People who have seen the band live will know this is not the case. This is the other side of Sugar that some people haven't seen yet, a style that we really enjoy. The presentation of the material is very demanding, very open to extrapolation, very fresh to us. You can make whatever you want out of it, that's what music is supposed to be about. Sometimes the experience of making music, or listening to music, shouldn't be overanalyzed and dissected. To me, that's what this piece of work is about." - Bob Mould
"Audibly a disciple of Hendrix, McGuinn and Page, and propelled by the supreme engine room of bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis, Mould's sound is dense but never turgid," wrote Mat Snow for Q. "Better still, his melodic instinct to head for the heights of epiphany remains intact; though on the face of it not a song here should raise even the thinnest wintry smile, tune-wise they beam with vitality and engagement."
A retrospective review in Q maintained the 4|5 rating. "Mould called Beaster 'the bad Sugar' (destined, sadly, to be followed by the 'crap Sugar' of File Under: Easy Listening)," wrote Danny Eccleston, "and alongside his solo Workbook, it's about the best thing in his bulging portfolio."
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Wikipedia