Beaster

Recorded at the same sessions that produced their classic debut Copper Blue, this sophomore collection was very much the dark flipside to the first album's widescreen powerpop. Although retaining his gift for great hooks, Beaster saw frontman and songwriter Bob Mould screaming confessional and rawly emotional lyrics against a raging torrent of noisy guitars. Ably backed up by the bass and drums of David Barbe and Malcolm Travis, the intense suite of songs combines wall of sound dynamics with powerful religious imagery and carefully layered arrangements. Remarkably, Sugar were vindicated in issuing such an extreme sonic statement when the album entered the UK charts at number three and cemented their reputation as an uncompromising but brilliantly creative outfit. Lovingly remastered from the original tapes in remarkably improved fidelity, this edition combines the 1993 album with a DVD featuring the band blasting through their live set in front of a huge outdoor audience at one of the many festival appearances they made that year.