“It’s relieving, to be honest,” McLaughlin explained of finally having the band’s second album out. “It has been a bit of a journey, and we’re kind of just ready to move forward with it now.” The lengthy three years between releases for Sugar Army was not due to any myth regarding difficult second albums, but put back when bassist Ian Berney left in April last year and asked to join fellow Perth band Birds of Tokyo. “We didn’t see that one coming at all,” McLaughlin said. “I don’t think he did. It was just one of those random things. We just had to get on with it.” McLaughlin and his other two Sugar Army band mates, guitarist Jamie Sher and Todd Honey on drums, jumped into the studio to adapt to life as a three-piece, and McLaughlin explains that the adjusted lineup even gave the band a second-wind. “It halted things for a while, we had to change the dynamic of our writing, but that made things exciting, it felt fresh again.”
Having developed a new way of working together, the band took themselves off to Sydney where they settled down for six weeks to finally record Summertime Heavy at BJB Studios with American producer Eric J, who helped the trio create an album more polished than their 2009 debut, The Parallels Amongst Ourselves. “This time we had to do something different, put ourselves into an unfamiliar environment to see what would happen. I think [Summertime Heavy] is a lot more open and spacious, a lot more stripped back,” mused McLaughlin, “a lot snappier, and a lot more crisp. We felt as though we were talking over each other a lot in the first record. A clashing of egos I think.”
Sugar Army’s evolution has not only been seen within the studio, but have called in the help of some extras, Chris Simmons and Ben Pooley to flesh out their songs live, describing the new live outfit as Sugar Army’s second entity. “These guys came and got thrown into the deep end,” said McLaughlin of putting together their live band. The addition of Simmons and Pooley gave the band an opportunity to explore their songs, to see how they could take on even more life. “It has definitely opened things up a lot. It gives the songs an extra level. It makes it a lot more ethereal in parts. On the first record, Todd would often write quite a few guitar parts, and it’s great that he can get Ben to explore these ideas that he had and didn’t get to play live,” McLaughlin says, explaining that even the old songs are taking on new life.
Earlier in the year, the band released their first single for three years, Hooks For Hands, as well as debuting their new-and-improved live ensemble. However, McLaughlin is already thinking to the future and album number three, excited to get working on new material however is still questioning who will be involved. “That’s what we need to figure out,” McLaughlin admitted, “I think it will begin with Todd, Jamie and I because we are the ones that need to figure out what we want next, what we want the new record to be and where we want the band to go. We’ve started writing, but we’re still figuring it out. We’re just heading on a path that feels good.”
From their work in the studio, the evolution of their performance on stage, and even the slightly sinister artwork of Summertime Heavy (an abstract plant shedding its colour) Sugar Army appear to have take on change with confidence, using every aspect of their new album to represent their surprise evolution. When asked about how he now handles change, McLaughlin explained that “you can’t be rigid in anything” and is far more accepting on the unexpected.
“Through the experience of this record, it has taught us to get on with it, [to] deal with the things that get thrown at you. I definitely think we’ve matured a lot in that way. We definitely don’t know what is coming next.”
Although McLaughlin’s is full of enthusiasm for the future, taking on the world is not that high on the Sugar Army agenda, explaining that creating art that they can be proud of is what is currently most important to him. “I’d be happy to just keep making music. It’s just about everything we release and everything we do, we’re in love with it and can stand by it. As long as we do that, we can’t really fail. All the other stuff is out of our control. We’ll just take it as it comes.”
BY ALEXANDRA DUGUID
