Sugarcoat It
The Calicos
- LP
- Label
- Mayway Records
Three years after their outstanding debut album ‘The Soft Landing’, Belgian band Calicos return with sophomore effort ‘Sugarcoat It’, an exploration of authenticity and identity in music by a band that both broadens and deepens their sound.
‘Sugarcoat It’ is a multifaceted album, going from unreservedly rocking over poppy to intimate and velvety. Comedown links Springsteen 80s pop to euphoric War On Drugs synths, Easy adds an irresistible pedal steel and Reliving rambles like a guitar in the hands of Kurt Vile, bathing in psych folk and roots. Opening track Blow Up is enthralling and epic, with a climactic finale, pulling the listener right into the album. Rush Rush is a flawless summer pop song, while Vermaelen’s hushed singing adds romance and yearning to Love Where Have You Been. And when In Motion puts you back down after 6 staggering minutes of delightful folky americana and a pulsing coda, bliss is all that remains.