CD of the week
Dave Chislett
When I Died I Was Elvis (Gallo) is the third full-length album release by Johannesburg-based band Sugardrive. In 1997 they released Sand Man Sky, which represented a sudden change in sound from a grunge-rock base to what some saw as a poor imitation of Massive Attack. The fact that that album went on to win them an FNB Sama award still sticks in their critics’ collective craw.
When I Died I Was Elvis will make similar realignments to the perception of the band. On it Sugardrive achieve the unlikely, welding the raw passion and power of their debut with the technical innovations and songwriting skill of Sand Man Sky.
This collection of 10 songs is as ethereal and spacious as anything the band has done to date, yet it is underpinned by a quiet ferocity that burns their point home. The combination of live drums with programmed rhythms and processed guitars gives it a feel not unlike the Bristol sound that birthed trip-hop.
The production indicates just how far the local music industry has come in the last couple of years. At once fat and powerful, the mix doesn’t sacrifice clarity or detail. The band’s stylistic minimalism defines a new South African sound and gives them a unique identity. Sugardrive have died and taken us all up to heaven.