You have no idea how obsessed with Sugar Ray I was when I was growing up. I was that loser who had posters of the band and Mark McGrath covering an entire wall. Though I never kissed any of my Mark McGrath posters (nor would I ever admit to doing so), I did become severely depressed when my brother smeared spaghetti sauce all over a couple of them as a form of retaliation during our spaghetti sauce fight.
That being said, you now have a pretty good idea that I was all about them. I am still a fan of their older stuff which had a much harder sound; with rich distorted guitars, solos and scratching by DJ Homicide. That was until “Fly” came along, which plunged the band into massive popularity. Interestingly enough, that song sounded NOTHING like the rest of Floored, their second album. Lead singer Mark McGrath even quit after “Fly” was completed because he wanted to sound like KoRn, not some cheesy pop band. But he couldn’t deny the infectiousness of Sugar Ray’s summer sound and neither could most people in the late 90’s and early 2000’s.
The band’s third release, 14:59, produced such massively successful singles such as “Every Morning” and “Someday” but their next two albums (Sugar Ray and In the Pursuit of Leisure) saw the band’s popularity taper off and cause the band to take the opportunity to pursue other interests.
Well six years later, Sugar Ray is back with Music for Cougars. Named for the demographic the band seemed to be attracting in recent shows, the album does not display a stretch or any growth forom McGrath and the boys. It actually seems the band is trying way too hard to replicate the sound that got them famous and though it worked back then, it just doesn’t seem to fit today.
Music for Cougars opens up with a strong track (“Girls Were Made to Love”) which has a very catchy sample and reggae sound, but the album quickly takes a turn with the third track, “She’s Got The (Whoo Hoo).” The lyrics can be pretty cringe-worthy, but McGrath has never been a strong songwriter in my opinion. “Love is the Answer” is an example because it contains cheesy lyrics that take away from the music. This particular song was written by/a gift from Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, so many people may argue with me on that point.
This whole thing works backwards though with “Rainbow.” The song has McGrath singing “I know that people bring you down/Save the trouble and just walk away/And the sun will burn the clouds away/If you wanna see the rainbow/You gotta sit through a little rain.” It’s such a cheesy message but for some reason I really enjoy it! It’s got a slow ballad-y feel to it and his voice sounds very strong when he sings the chorus.
A low-light of the album is “Closer,” which reminds me of a Hannah Montanna (or any other tween television network pop music star) type song. McGrath grabbed his surfboard and caught the auto-tune wave on this one, plus the song features some smokey synthesizers that just sound a little out of place.
On the other end of that, “Going Nowhere” is a highlight if you’re like me and are a fan of their harder stuff (especially “Falls Apart” off of 14:59). The song seems to be the closest to Sugar Ray’s roots, which I’m sure McGrath is very happy about. Light pianos and acoustic guitars dance around the verses and give the song a playful feel but then it gives way to a heavily distorted chorus. This song is probably my favorite because McGrath sounds very comfortable and confident since this song seems to be more his avenue. Also, because it reminds me very much of Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy,” which is one of my favorite songs!
Also, “Dance Like No One’s Watchin'” has a fresh sound featuring up-and-comer Donavan Frankenreiter. Acoustic guitars and heavy beats are no stranger to Sugar Ray but this song seems to be one of their strongest and you can’t complain since Frankenreiter highlights the song even more by complimenting McGrath’s voice with his own smokey voice.
Overall, it seems as though Sugar Ray’s sound is much bigger in this album as McGrath, Rodney Sheppard (lead guitar), Stan Frazier (drums), Murphy Karges (bass) and DJ Homicide use their experience and love of music to try to learn. McGrath recently expressed that the album wasn’t planned as a big comeback but more of aspur of the moment type of thing. It’s the epitome of Sugar Ray: fun-loving, summer, no-deeper-meaning album. It’s infectious and poppy in such a way that makes me ashamed to be a little into it!
Though the album has a couple of great gems, there are some very questionable moments in there as well. It is by no means up to the standards of 14:59 and unfortunately for Sugar Ray, their 15 minutes of fame seem to be up.
Music for Cougars is out now. Click here for an interview and news snippet on Sugar Ray.
Buy the album at our record store on Amazon
Here’s “Girls Were Made To Love”:
Here are some related pages on EnterTheShell.com:
- Kanye West full “Runaway” short film
- Album Review – Body Talk, Parts one and two by Robyn
- Nicki Minaj premieres new video for “Check It Out”
- Album Review – Animal by Ke$ha
- The Enter the Shell Show – Enter The EP, Vol. IV