Sugar
Sugar
Indie
Georgian-born New Yorker singer-songwriter Mary Bragg was exposed to gospel, country and rock music growing up, and such a mixture is present on the largely creamy-voiced and honeyed instrumentation of Sugar, Bragg’s 2007 sophomore effort.
Taking inspiration from legends such as innovative singer-songwriter-musician Joni Mitchell and popular Americana/pop-rock artists Patty Griffin (Bragg is often compared to Griffin), Sugar, displayed in a four-fold cardboard box, is more than just simply a musical confection. It demonstrates a woman blossoming into a more mature career, adding greater craft and depth after gaining critical attention with her 2004 debut Certain Simple Things.
The set launches with the lulling, gentle and attractive “Let Me,” a song which turned Bragg into a finalist at the International Songwriting Contest, before it gives way to “Child,” which is soaked in soothing vocals while a dark tale of child custody develops. The fluid sweetness that envelops the ambiance of the album then takes a complete roundabout with the cautionary “Sweet Skin,” where Bragg exercises an assertive voice paralleling great guitar accompaniment.
“The Paper Chase,” the centerpiece of Sugar, marks an even further shift in that it focuses on corporate politics, opening with an exuberant piano introduction before drums and electric guitar chime in to create an upbeat, lightweight rhythm section. The backdrop stalls mid-record as a great bluesy guitar solo kicks in.
The album’s closer, “Trying,” supplements the interpersonal awareness of “The Paper Chase” in that it focuses on Hurricane Katrina. Two different vocals by Bragg trade off verses that fatten the track’s appeal. But again, most of the album is wrapped with country, folk and pop leanings such as the country-imbued “I Will Love You.”
Mary Bragg’s endearing and melodic Sugar should fulfill those favoring a rich, caressing vocal delivery underpinned by spare instrumentation and themes of romance with bits of social concerns. It’s Americana folk-pop ear candy at its sweetest.
by Jeff Boyce
