Sugarmen – ‘Dirt’ Review: A Punk-Pop Buzzsaw

Sugarmen’s latest single, ‘Dirt’, was produced by The Clash’s Mick Jones and recorded in a studio donated by Paul Weller (who the band are supporting on tour at the time of writing). If this doesn’t tell you all you need to know about this track, you probably didn’t do too well in school.

Sugarmen’s sound is a throwback to the late 70’s punk movement with its angst-ridden guitars and aggressive drums. It’s no wonder why Paul Weller has taken an interest in the band, as their sound is very similar to The Jam. Vocally it swerves between sounding like Alex Turner, Paul Weller and Robert Smith, without ever sounding too much like any of them.

If you peel back the angsty instrumentation, past the vicious overdriven guitars and delicious bass groove, there is an unmistakable sense of melody in this track. For all the explosiveness of the track, the melody is never sacrificed and the chorus even uses vocal harmonies to preserve it.

At just less than 3 minutes ‘Dirt’ stays true to the “quick shot of angst” mentality of punk, making this track arguably the closest you’ll get to hearing 70’s punk reimagined for the 21st century. The future looks promising for Sugarmen.