We enter Sugar Scars’ aural world with a certain reverence and curiosity. You see, the American-Mexican duo crafts material that’s hard to place into a specific genre box. Instead, it’s eclectic and boundary-pushing, oscillating between darkness and lusciousness with free-form allure and otherworldly flair. ‘Dark Spark – White Light’ is the perfect evidence of that. Marking the project’s sophomore album, the record sees the talented duo doubling down on rowdy, distorted sound design, with not-so-hidden hints at industrial influences and leftfield electronica.
Despite being divided by an international border – the one between El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico – Sugar Scars maintain a cohesive direction, one that’s unique and particularly special. Over eleven tracks, ‘Dark Spark – White Light’ uncovers a committed journey of aural research, spanning from imaginative sound design to quirky compositional solutions. Whichever way you look at it, it’s hard not to recognise the project as a keen trailblazer: Sugar Scars do not care about modern trends or any beaten path around them. They make their own way.
Lyrically, the album embodies a profound sense of melancholia and self-awareness, exploring both personal and societal themes with a keen observational flair. We dare say that the record is perhaps not for everyone, and it does not seek to be either. Yet, to the courageous and curious listener, ‘Dark Spark – White Light’ will provide half an hour of pure experimental, genre-bending bliss, a rare sight in an increasingly uniform music landscape.
Recommended! Discover ‘Dark Spark – White Light’ on Spotify:
