Dronningen – Sugarbox EP
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| Dronningen - Sugarbox EP |
Release Date: Out Now
Two Italians, a French woman and
a guy from Hong Kong walk in to a bar and, well, they rock it. This is
Dronningen, the London based quartet with a beautifully international flavour
thanks to their personnel and they are back with their second EP, ‘Sugarbox’.
Things kick off, in every sense, with ‘Taxi Driver’ – a song that combines the
snarl of Gossip with the rock’n’roll of Band Of Skulls and cranks it up to 11
as they take a road trip with Travis Bickle. The buzz-saw guitars continue on ‘White
Saliva’ as the relentless drums drive things home and frontwoman Beatrice
Bonnano wails through the storm like someone screaming in to a jet engine. On ‘She’s
Gone Insane’ the beat and riff pace is breathless as the punk meets garage vibe
makes me want to start a tight little circle pit with anyone in the room
(currently my cat so, y’know, not gonna happen).
At the end of this EP we come
across title track ‘Sugarbox’ which maintains the pace but throws a circular,
psyched-out organ riff in for good measure, not to mention the insane(ly good)
solo that defies all logic. Frankly, it’s been a long time since I’ve heard an
EP so unapologetic about what it is, what it’s saying and where it wants to go
which makes this a very strong contender for EP of the year already. Heavy,
frenetic and abrasive but oh so melodic and hooky as well. Last year this blog
went gaga for new London band Berries but I think Dronningen have come along to
play their arch-nemesis role so I think we should just sit back and let battle
commence (just to be clear, I don’t know if the bands even now each other but I
have a very fertile imagination and I make no apology for that).
More information: https://www.facebook.com/dronningenmusik/