EP Review: Sugar Horse – Waterloo Teeth (Small Pond Records)

The ever-mercurial, boundary-pushing UK rock quartet Sugar Horse will release their new collaborative EP ‘Waterloo Teeth’ on the 28th of October via Small Pond. It features members of Heriot, Conjurer, IDLES, Biffy Clyro, and many more.

It’s highly unlikely that anyone would have expected this to be the next thing Sugar Horse put out after 2021’s The Live Long After album. That’s Sugar Horse for you though. Always doing their own thing. Always pushing the boundaries and surprising their fanbase.

Four tracks and four unique collaborations. Waterloo Teeth is different. Every single track is different and because of that, has to be seen as a group of singles more than a complete EP. There isn’t much a flow but considering its short length, that’s hardly a problem.

Take the first two tracks as an example; Disco Loadout and Waterloo Teeth. The former is a short slab of chaotic and abrasive noise with a cello buried amongst the cacophony. The latter is a mournful, harmonised and melodic listen that features a saxophone, but transforms into something intense and uncomfortably heavy sounding. They couldn’t be more different, but both offer something so damn memorable.

Not that it’s any different with the final two tracks. Gutted makes use of Conjurer and Pupil Slicer to deliver one of the heaviest and doomiest tracks with Sugar Horse’s name attached. Brutal is the understatement, just be prepared for a melodic interlude that cuts through the noise wonderfully and builds to an ending that is phenomenally heavy.

Whereas Super Army Soldiers has the Sugar Horse post ring to it. Moving melodies and an incredible sense of lightness, the developing atmosphere makes the collaboration all the more prominent. As it seems to be coming to an end, the fuzz and buzz stays, before Sugar Horse bring it back for an epically noisy finale.

Like everything Sugar Horse does, Waterloo Teeth is unforgettable.

Sugar Horse – Waterloo Teeth Full Track Listing:

1. Disco Loadout (ft. Debbie Gough, Heriot, vocals; Damien Sayell, Mclusky, vocals; Matt Loveridge, MXLX, cello)
2. Waterloo Teeth (ft. Dave Larkin, Black Peaks, bass; Will Gardner, Black Peaks, saxophone; Paul Tierney, Lonely Tourist, vocals)
3. Gutted (ft. Kate Davies, Pupil Slicer, vocals; Dan Nightingale, Conjurer, vocals/guitar; Brady Deeprose, Conjurer, vocals/guitar; Conor Marshall, Conjurer, vocals/guitar; Nuala Honan, vocals)
4. Super Army Soldiers (ft. Adam Devonshire, IDLES, bass; Mike Vennart, Oceansize/Biffy Clyro/Vennart, guitar; Connie Matthews, Wych Elm, vocals)

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