spinmagazine.com
Sugar’s reunion has already delivered the cathartic, high-volume joy fans for which fans waited decades, and now Bob Mould, David Barbe and Malcolm Travis are keeping the momentum going with another new song.
The reunited trio today unveiled “Keep Looping,” the third cut to emerge in recent months from its first recordings in more than 30 years. It follows “Long Live Love” and “House of Dead Memories,” extending a comeback that SPIN witnessed firsthand in May at New York’s Webster Hall.
“Living in San Francisco, I have a love/hate relationship with AI,” Mould says of the new song. “It’s bringing my city back to life, but at what cost to society and the environment? And do we trust the current regime to do the right thing with this new tech? The new song has more snarl, and the lyrics say it all: ‘A touch of dopamine. The steady beat of the drum. Get used to the constant hum of the Lie.’”
Barbe called “Keep Looping” his favorite of the trio’s recent releases. “Just like so many other things that quite literally keep looping in my head, this song gets stuck in my brain quite a bit,” he says. “The combination of the intensity of the main riff and the elevation of the bridge checks a lot of boxes for me.”
After a European tour, Sugar will be back in North America for a 24-show run starting Aug. 11 in Denver. Highlights include three sold-out nights at Minneapolis’ First Avenue, where Mould frequently rocked out in the ’80s with prior band Hüsker Dü. A portion of every ticket sold will benefit the Trevor Project.
“You can’t imagine how surreal this whole experience has been so far,” Travis says. “The travel, meeting fans young and old … the fact that we are even playing together again. A total thrill.”
For Mould, the return has been as much about audience connection as amplifiers and distortion. “Thank goodness for live music,” he enthuses. “It’s been a joy to be on the road with Sugar. Hardly any phones out. Audiences fully engaged with what’s happening on stage. That makes me hopeful for the future.”
