Beaster, a 30 minute mini-LP, was the second release by Sugar. It came out in 1993, six months after the release of their first LP, Copper Blue. After the dissolution of Husker Du, Bob Mould had released two solo albums, but Sugar was his first attempt at forming a new group, and the formation of the trio represented a spike in creativity for both Mould and the band as a whole. Legend has it that their first recording session produced somewhere between 20 and 30 songs, 10 of which ended up on Copper Blue and six more of which were on Beaster. The two releases showcased different sides of Sugar’s overall sound, with Copper Blue focusing on catchy pop melodies. Beaster was much darker and angrier, which was fitting for a concept album about religion and its traumatic effects on people.
Nuggets of the Future has words on ‘JC Auto’ and the video of ‘Tilted’, and I have the combined rip of the two songs (live, and the radio edit) from the limited-edition 7”, which is my non-original part of the physical relics of the decade known as the ‘1990s’. I got Beaster from eMusic several years ago, and it rocked my world like only an album with a cover of a bloody mess can.
