Sugar at the Gate

Sugar at the Gate is the third studio album of Canadian indie group TOPS, consisting of vocalist Jane Penny, guitarist David Carriere, drummer Riley Fleck, and bassist Jackson MacIntosh. It was released on June 2, 2017 by Arbutus Records. For making the album, the group lived in Los Angeles in order to have the music reflect experiencing a "teenage fantasy" in the city; it was tracked in a Glendale, California-based mansion named Glamdale.[1]

Sugar at the Gate
Studio album by
TOPS
ReleasedJune 2, 2017
LabelArbutus
TOPS chronology
Picture You Staring
(2014)		 Sugar at the Gate
(2017)		 I Feel Alive
(2020)

Background

TOPS' prior work, such as their second album Picture You Staring (2014), had an "isolated" soft, old pop rock sound which the group thought was limited by the fact that they recorded only in Montreal; they weren't sure about what sound and style to go for until they completed performing around 100 shows in 2015.[2] Now, they not only had a sense of how to communicate ideas and perform as a band, but also how to record; the different type of space and minimalism of Sugar at the Gates from prior albums, for instance, was influenced by 1990s R&B.[3]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Album of the Year74/100[4]
AnyDecentMusic?6.8/10[5]
Metacritic70/100[6]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Clash7/10[8]
DIY[9]
Exclaim!8/10[10]
God is in the TV6/10[11]
The Line of Best Fit7.5/10[12]
Mojo[6]
NARC Magazine4.5/5[13]
Now[14]
Pitchfork7.4/10[15]

Sugar at the Gate was claimed by NARC Magazine to be TOPS' best album: "The satisfying blend of well-timed chord changes, floating synths and featherlike drum beats create something that handsomely rewards repeated listens, especially on the sunnier days."[13] It was ranked the third best album of 2017 by Gorilla vs. Bear,[16] and the 44th best by Blare magazine.[17] It was also one of the "Favorite Indie Pop and Indie Rock Albums" of AllMusic,[18] which published a review by Marcy Donelson that concluded, "If a touch weightier in tone, the album returns a distinctive palette and home-recorded finish to a heavy-heartedness firmly established on 2014's Picture You Staring, so fans and sentimentalists may take heart."[7] Earbuddy positively described it as a "more alert" Picture You Staring, where "there's a pleasant serenity to some of [the songs] but not without a trickle of ice water down your spine. But in a good way."[19]

The band's continued attention to song craft was a common praise in reviews of Sugar at the Gate,[15][8] especially for a record in an indie scene where "few young artists even attempt this sort of subtly difficult form of pop" (Kevin Korber of Spectrum Culture)[20] and "DIY sometimes suggests the heedless jettisoning of any frills" (Now's Mark Streeter).[14] Aspects to the craft that were noted included the "well-wrought voices,"[14] "well-timed chord changes,"[13] restraint,[12][10] "masterful awareness of space,"[10] and "alluring lyricism."[12]

Cole Firth of Exclaim! and Isabella McDonnell of The Line of Best Fit lauded the songs' lyrical perplexity, with its use of mystery and "contrasting and ironic thematic layers" that engage the listener;[10][12] as McDonnell explained, "Sugar at the Gate, as a whole, is surprisingly cryptic, and slowly allows the budding flower of the album’s meaning to unfurl as the listener makes their way through the release. And yet, the album feels immediately convincing and real: it gives you same excitement as if smelling the freshly cut grass in the first days of summertime. It eels both mysterious and real."[12] According to Sidewalk Hustle, the record "bursts with thoughtful lyrics that pose open-ended questions and stick in the back of the listener’s mind long after the eleven tracks have played out."[21]

In mixed reviews, DIY's Laura Prior appreciated the use of melancholic lyrics and the "indifferent" delivery of them with an upbeat sound[9] and God is in the TV's praised Penny's singing and the record's "few undeniable bangers;"[11] however, both felt it lacked any sort of heaviness to make the music memorable.[9][11] SoundBlab argued it depended too much on the "mystique and allure of the vocals," resulting in musical compositions that lack direction or a finish line.[22] Mojo dismissed the record as "largely insubstantial,"[6] while PressPlayOK felt the band's move towards a sadder tone caused their music to not entice a demographic: "TOPS fans may find themselves alienated in the go-nowhere numbers like Cutlass Cruiser and Hours Between, and newcomers will have switched off long before then."[23]

References
  1. Slingerland, Calum (March 9, 2017). "TOPS Return with 'Sugar at the Gate' LP, Share "Petals"". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  2. Guzman, Ivan (June 15, 2017). "TOPS". Office. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  3. Jackson, Noah (May 31, 2017). "Jane Penny Of TOPS On Their New Album & L.A. Living". Nylon. Retrieved May 21, 2020.
  4. "TOPS – Sugar at the Gate". Album of the Year. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  5. "Sugar at the Gate by TOPS reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  6. "Critic Reviews for Sugar". Metacritic. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  7. Donelson, Marcy. "Sugar at the Gate – TOPS". AllMusic. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  8. Bajpai, Noveen (June 15, 2017). "TOPS – Sugar At The Gate". Clash. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  9. Johnson, Eugenie (June 2, 2017). "TOPS – Sugar at the Gate". DIY. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  10. Firth, Cole (May 31, 2017). "TOPS Sugar at the Gate". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  11. Prior, Laura (June 14, 2017). "Tops – Sugar at the Gate (Arbutus Records)". God is in the TV. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  12. McDonnell, Isabella (June 4, 2017). "TOPS feeds our romantic, teenage desires with Sugar at the Gate". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  13. Khan, Nad (June 8, 2017). "Album Review: TOPS – Sugar at the Gate". NARC Magazine. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  14. Streeter, Mark (May 31, 2017). "TOPS capture a Rumours vibe on Sugar At The Gate". Now. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  15. Lozano, Kevin (June 14, 2017). "TOPS: Sugar at the Gate". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  16. Chris (December 3, 2017). "Gorilla vs. Bear's Albums of 2017". Gorilla vs. Bear. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  17. "The 50 Best Albums of 2017". Blare. December 14, 2017. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  18. "Favorite Indie Pop and Indie Rock Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  19. NK (June 1, 2017). "TOPS – Sugar At The Gate Review". Earbuddy. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  20. Korber, Kevin (June 4, 2017). "TOPS: Sugar at the Gate". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  21. Muir, Ava (June 2, 2017). "Album Review: 'Sugar at the Gate' by TOPS". Sidewalk Hustle. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  22. Fidler, Nathan (June 3, 2017). "TOPS – Sugar At The Gate". SoundBlab. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
  23. "REVIEW: TOPS – Sugar At The Gate". PressPlayOK. May 30, 2017. Retrieved May 19, 2020.
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