The Sugarcubes | ||
| Allmusic Biography : The Sugarcubes were the biggest group ever to emerge from Iceland, which helps explain their off-kilter sense of melody. Their 1988 debut, Lifes Too Good, attracted terrific reviews and became a college radio hit, but they never were able to recapture that sense of excitement. According to group legend, the Sugarcubes formed on June 8, 1986, the day that vocalist Björk (born Björk Gundmundsdottir) gave birth to her son. Prior to that day, the members of the group had been a variety of Icelandic bands. Björk had the longest career out of any of the members. When she was 11 years old, the vocalist had recorded a childrens album. In her late teens, she joined the Icelandic post-punk band Tappi Tikarrass, who released two albums before splitting in 1983. Drummer Siggi Baldursson (born Sigtryggur Baldursson, October 2, 1962) was a member of þeyr (aka Theyr), whose most prominent international moment came in 1982, when they recorded with Youth and Jaz Coleman of Killing Joke. At the same time Theyr was popular within Iceland, Einar Benediktsson and Bragi Olafsson formed a punk band called Purrkur Pillnikk, which released records on Benediktssons own label, Gramm. By 1984, Björk, Benediktsson, and Baldursson had joined forces, forming K.U.K.L. with keyboardist Einar Mellax. K.U.K.L. -- which means witch in Icelandic -- was an noisy, artsy post-punk band that released several singles on the independent British record label Crass. In 1986, K.U.K.L. evolved into the Sugarcubes, adding Björks then-husband Thor Eldon on guitar and Bragi Olafsson on bass. In late 1987, the band signed to One Little Indian in the U.K., Elektra Records in the U.S. The Sugarcubes released their debut album, Lifes Too Good, in 1988 to critical acclaim in both the U.K. and the U.S. "Birthday," the first single from the album, became an indie hit in Britain and a college radio hit in America. In particular, Björk received a heap of praise, which began tensions between her and Benediktsson. By the time the group recorded its second album, Thor had divorced Björk and married Magga Ornolfsdottir, who became the groups keyboardist after Einar Mellax left. Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!, the Sugarcubes second album, was released in 1989. The album featured a greater vocal contribution by Einar, which was criticized in many of the records reviews, which were noticeably weaker than those for Lifes Too Good. After the release of Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week!, the band embarked on a lengthy international tour. At the conclusion of the tour in late 1990, the bandmembers pursued their own individual interests. Stick Around for Joy, the bands third album, was released in 1992; before the record appeared, a collection of remixes called Its-It was released in Europe. Stick Around for Joy received better reviews than Lifes Too Good, but the album failed to yield a hit single. Following its release, the Sugarcubes disbanded. In 1993, Björk launched a critically acclaimed and commercially successful solo career that was based in dance music. | ||
 | Album: 1 of 7 Title: Life’s Too Good Released: 1988-04 Tracks: 10 Duration: 31:49 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify TrackSamples Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Traitor (03:10) 2 Motorcrash (02:23) 3 Birthday (03:59) 4 Delicious Demon (02:42) 5 Mama (02:57) 6 Coldsweat (03:16) 7 Blue Eyed Pop (02:37) 8 Deus (04:08) 9 Sick for Toys (03:14) 10 Fucking in Rhythm & Sorrow (03:21) |
| Life’s Too Good : Allmusic album Review : With strong songs built around Björks piercing, striking voice, this record lived up to all the advance hype. With songs like "Birthday" and "Motorcrash," this is the perfect introduction to the Cubes. | ||
 | Album: 2 of 7 Title: Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! Released: 1989-09-20 Tracks: 16 Duration: 51:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Tidal Wave (02:56) 2 Regina (04:05) 3 Speed Is the Key (03:18) 4 Dream TV (03:12) 5 Nail (03:18) 6 Pump (04:25) 7 Eat the Menu (03:44) 8 Bee (02:27) 9 Dear Plastic (03:23) 10 Shoot Him (02:10) 11 Water (03:01) 12 A Day Called Zero (02:38) 13 Planet (03:23) 14 Hey (03:22) 15 Dark Disco 1 (03:01) 16 Hot Meat (03:14) |
| Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! : Allmusic album Review : A slip from the first album, but not so much that its without merit. | ||
 | Album: 3 of 7 Title: Illur Arfur! Released: 1989-10 Tracks: 16 Duration: 51:46 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Tidal Wave (02:55) 2 Regina (04:10) 3 Speed Is the Key (03:18) 4 Dream TV (03:12) 5 Nail (03:15) 6 Pump (04:24) 7 Eat the Menu (03:52) 8 Bee (02:26) 9 Dear Plastic (03:23) 10 Shoot Him (02:10) 11 Water (03:01) 12 A Day Called Zero (02:40) 13 Planet (03:21) 14 Hey (03:22) 15 Dark Disco 1 (03:01) 16 Hot Meat (03:16) |
 | Album: 4 of 7 Title: Stick Around for Joy Released: 1992-02-18 Tracks: 10 Duration: 37:40 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Gold (03:39) 2 Hit (03:56) 3 Leash Called Love (03:42) 4 Lucky Night (04:03) 5 Happy Nurse (03:37) 6 I’m Hungry (04:33) 7 Walkabout (03:48) 8 Hetero Scum (03:08) 9 Vitamin (03:41) 10 Chihuahua (03:30) |
| Stick Around for Joy : Allmusic album Review : While not as adventurous or stunning as their debut (Lifes Too Good), the Sugarcubes swan song release (Stick Around for Joy) contains enough quality material to see them out in style. Amid producer Paul Fox (10,000 Maniacs, They Might Be Giants, Semisonic)s compact backdrops, Björk and Einar Orn lead the band through a fast-paced and funk-inflected mix of arthouse pop. With Siggi Baldurssons syncopated drums and Thor Eldons glossy indie guitar in the forefront, Björk expectedly pounces on each song with her acrobatic pipes; thankfully, Orn keeps his usually spastic vocal interjections to a minimum, often opting for some fine trumpet accents instead. Moving from the multi-vocal nuances of the opener, "Gold," to the relatively straightforward delivery heard on the tidy "Hit," Björk proves that her subsequent solo career was inevitable and necessary -- she sounds at times as if the bands relatively narrow musical approach is straitjacketing her, especially on the presciently titled "Leash Called Love." While the curious will only need to pick up Lifes Too Good, the Sugarcubes faithful will no doubt want to check this disc out. | ||
 | Album: 5 of 7 Title: It’s‐It Released: 1992-10-05 Tracks: 13 Duration: 1:15:22 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Allmusic Wikipedia AlbumCover | 1 Birthday (Justin Robertson 12″ mix) (07:32) 2 Leash Called Love (Tony Humphries mix) (06:26) 3 Blue Eyed Pop (S1000 mix) (06:39) 4 Motorcrash (Justin Robertson mix) (06:48) 5 Planet (Graham Massey Planet Suite Pt 2) (04:42) 6 Gold (Todd Terry mix) (06:09) 7 Water (Bryan ‘Chuck’ New mix) (04:13) 8 Regina (Sugarcubes mix) (05:11) 9 Mama (Mark Saunders mix) (05:09) 10 Pump (Marius de Vries mix) (04:29) 11 Hit (Tony Humphries Sweet & Low mix) (07:10) 12 Birthday (Tommy D mix) (06:41) 13 Coldsweat (DB/BP mix) (04:10) |
| It’s‐It : Allmusic album Review : Since the Sugarcubes came and went in such an audacious flash of bizarre originality (and especially since Björk slowly became one of the biggest international crossover success stories of the 90s), one isnt shocked to find the number of reissues and clumsy collections quickly outnumbering the bands actual output. Yes, the Sugarcubes are becoming much like an Icelandic Sex Pistols these days. Which explains Its-It: a mood-testing, dull nightmare of a remix album that almost destroys every fond memory of listeners Icelandic friends. How bad is it? For starters, schooled big beat artist Justin Robertson shows up twice here. Once to add an abstruse, 90s disco beat to the lovelorn, alien, mystical (and never to be surpassed) lament of "Birthday" and again to modify "Motorcrash" into a KLF-styled swagger. Neither are too exceptional. Both are actually about as good as this album gets. In the rest of the album, the bands two-pronged vocal gymnastic act of Einar and Björk is usually muzzled throughout simplistic beats and over-processed guitar riffs. For every fun, "lets turn Björk into a feral, growling hip-hop singer" moment (the Marius de Vries mix of "Pump"), theres about a half-dozen others that reduce the shambolic oddity of the band into sub-B-52s disco fests (Tony Humphries, S1000, etc.). Its as if these remixers seem to be shaking off a post-acid house haze and getting nowhere fast. Luckily, the Sugarcubes do their own remix of "Regina," which -- apart from some accented accordions and echoes -- has relatively conservative changes. No wonder it sounds worthy of being here. Even better, true fans will also enjoy the Bryan "Chuck" remix on "Water." This take is probably the only version that still seems to recognize the bands knack for frazzled unpredictability without completely missing the point. Which highlights how the rest of the entire contrived album is that much more of an insult to the band. The Sugarcubes might not have lasted long in the world of pasty-faced indie, but they deserve far, far better than this. | ||
 | Album: 6 of 7 Title: The Great Crossover Potential Released: 1998-07-14 Tracks: 14 Duration: 50:18 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% Spotify Wikipedia Allmusic AlbumCover | 1 Birthday (03:59) 2 Coldsweat (03:16) 3 Mama (02:57) 4 Motorcrash (02:23) 5 Deus (04:08) 6 Regina (04:07) 7 Pump (04:25) 8 Planet (03:23) 9 Water (03:01) 10 Hit (03:56) 11 Vitamin (03:41) 12 Walkabout (03:48) 13 Gold (03:39) 14 Chihuahua (03:30) |
| The Great Crossover Potential : Allmusic album Review : The Sugarcubes were one of the great cult bands of collegiate rock, not only because they had a distinctive sound, but because they were so damn weird. They sounded like nothing else in the late 80s/early 90s or anything that came before, creating an unusual hybrid of pop, dance, and the avant-garde. So rabid was their cult that some critics said they could cross over into the mainstream, yet that never really happened, despite their strong English following. However, that notion gives the title to their best-of collection, The Great Crossover Potential. The 14-track compilation proves that they could never really have crossed over, mainly because their pop sense is quirky and theyre often an acquired taste. Björk, of course, wound up being a pop star with equally ambitious music, and while her talent is apparent here, its often submerged by Einars excruciatingly ridiculous showboating. Einar was often overbearing on the Sugarcubes albums (particularly toward the end of their career), and it is true that hes less irritating here than on the proper records, but casual fans should be aware that The Great Crossover Potential is only slightly less uneven than the actual albums, with the exception of the remarkable debut, Lifes Too Good. The collection, however, remains a nice way to round up the highlights, particularly those from Here Today, Tomorrow Next Week! and Stick Around for Joy. | ||
 | Album: 7 of 7 Title: The Complete Studio Albums Released: 2006 Tracks: 37 Duration: 2:02:44 Scroll: Up Down Top Bottom 25% 50% 75% AlbumCover | 1 Traitor (03:10) 2 Motorcrash (02:23) 3 Birthday (03:59) 4 Delicious Demon (02:42) 5 Mama (02:57) 6 Coldsweat (03:16) 7 Blue Eyed Pop (02:37) 8 Deus (04:08) 9 Sick for Toys (03:14) 10 Fucking in Rhythm & Sorrow (03:21) 11 Take Some Petrol Darling (01:29) 1 Tidal Wave (02:56) 2 Regina (04:05) 3 Speed Is the Key (03:18) 4 Dream TV (03:12) 5 Nail (03:18) 6 Pump (04:25) 7 Eat the Menu (03:44) 8 Bee (02:27) 9 Dear Plastic (03:23) 10 Shoot Him (02:10) 11 Water (03:01) 12 A Day Called Zero (02:38) 13 Planet (03:23) 14 Hey (03:22) 15 Dark Disco 1 (03:01) 16 Hot Meat (03:14) 1 Gold (03:39) 2 Hit (03:56) 3 Leash Called Love (03:42) 4 Lucky Night (04:03) 5 Happy Nurse (03:37) 6 I’m Hungry (04:33) 7 Walkabout (03:48) 8 Hetero Scum (03:08) 9 Vitamin (03:41) 10 Chihuahua (03:30) |