“Hold your breath for the rapture and watch it look through your eyes.”
The year is 1950. The town of Hot Springs, New Mexico decides to enter a contest run by a popular NBC radio show. Previously known for tourism driven by its spa industry, it would take on a new name. Enter Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, which was driven by host Ralph Edwards‘s conviction that “a town in the United States that ‘liked and respected’ the show so much” that it would take on a brand new identity.
Sugar Horse‘s latest EP, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, takes us through a similar journey. About a year removed from its singles collection Waterloo Teeth, the band seeks to make a proper EP this time around. With the overarching theme clearly the scenic the county seat of Sierra County, New Mexico, the scene sets itself.
Tongues of molten sulfur,
Will burn your doubts alive.
Though you live to suffer,
You’ll more than just survive.
The only single released from the project, “II – Or“, might give a listener the wrong impression of what’s coming. This represents one early moment of catharsis, when the spacey and vocal driven “I – Truth” gives way. The dynamic range of material has proven one of Sugar Horses‘s signatures thus far and these tracks act as foils to one another. From the layered chants of the first track as the instrumentals build to the sharp screams of the second makes for a marked yet excellent transition.
With Waterloo Teeth, one of my biggest gripes was the lack of interplay between tracks. This time, the tracks segue tastefully and effortless into one another. The entire EP could be one singular song without any real changes being made, just passages through a movement. “III – Consequences” features another shift, towards a greater melodic segment featuring some of vocalist Ashley Tubb‘s most striking leads yet. “IV – Comma”, naturally, swings back in the other direction with a driving riff and snarling barks.
“V – Neu” then changes up the formula, continuing at first from its predecessor before breaking down into a wall of static. Similarly, “VI – Mexico” closes things out with a reprise of the main riff from “II – Or“. The refrain “Inhale, exhale” calls back as well, creating a circular dynamic that ties the package together.
Admittedly, Truth or Consequences, New Mexico is not actually about Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. Instead, this is a free-wheeling yet cohesive EP that touches on a lot Sugar Horse has to offer. After delivering a solid package last time, they’ve refined and whittled down to a much more worthwhile endeavor here. This one bears repeated listens to get familiar, then repeated listens for the pure enjoyment of it.
9/10
Sugar Horse – Truth Or Consequences, New Mexico comes out this Friday, November 4 on Fat Dracula Records and can be pre-ordered here.