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Lights Out

Sugarcult
V2 Music

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Sugarcult - Lights Out For the past dozen or so years, pop punk has been mostly a series of one-night stands: cheap, meaningless singles with little to no substance. They're good for a quick thrill, but, after getting dressed the next morning and leaving cab fare on the nightstand, you're left just as lonely, as before.

Sugarcult tackles the morning-after blues on Lights Out, the act's third studio effort and first for V2 Music, both in the figurative pop-punk sense and the literal, anonymous sex sense. To say the band's growing up and maturing -- or in the very least growing weary of the lifestyle -- is no exaggeration. Sugarcult's moved on from cheap pop-punk hook-ups as well as the emptiness of throwaway love-until-dawn relationships. Striking out with a slicked up and retooled sound that juggles its run-of-the-mill pop-punk past with graces and maturity that hint at the expansive alt-rock sounds of Placebo and The Foo Fighters, Lights Out makes the rock-over-bubblegum transformation hinted at on 2004's Palm Trees and Power Lines (Fearless).

Sugarcult won't become the next hipster-approved buzz band with Lights Out, but the Santa Cruz, Calif. band can no longer be poo-pooed as just another mall-punk novelty act. It's ready to build something meaningful, mature and more lasting than a one-night fling or a pop-punk anthem. It's ready to be adults. It's a pretty good effort. "Dead Living" mixes racing sugar-punk tempos with hard-rock guitar leads that shrouds the band's sugar tooth in hard edges learned from Eve's 6 or The Foo Fighters. "Made a Mistake," with its roaring, searing guitars and rock rhythms has all muscle for the boys' hard-rock radio with the sweet melodies for the girls. "Do It Alone" mutates Sugarcult's pop-punk hooks into a sleek, highly polished hard rock/glam hybrid.

While the band's perfecting its pop-punk to alt-rock transition on Lights Out, singer/guitarist also mulls another phase in his maturity: Seeking out something more than the rock'n'roll lifestyle. Sometimes he's just as frustrated by real life as the next guy ("Los Angeles") , others, he's ready to settle down and own up to a relationship ("Do It Alone"), but mostly, he's mulling over how to get over his occasional need for some meaningless thrills in his quest to grow up.

Sugarcult's days as a face in the pop-punk crowd are over with Lights Out. It's on to bigger and more important things this time around. And contrary to all rock'n'roll wisdom, growing up is a lot of fun, at least this time around.

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Lights Out

Sugarcult V2 Music

Sugarcult
V2 Music