Listen: Joanna Gruesome – Sugarcrush

On the basis of the first ten seconds of this track, ‘Sugarcrush’ seems a weirdly inept title for Joanna Gruesome’s new single.

It crashes into life, abrasive and visceral, almost like something you’d hear from At The Drive-In, then that sweet-as-anything guitar hook enters, and the track becomes a world of insatiable vocal harmonies and tasty hooks. It’s evident that ‘Sugarcrush’ is the band’s first experimentation with recording in a studio, as opposed to a bedroom, and although polished would be the wrong word, it’s got a sheen that takes their fuzzy tones to greater, poppier heights.

The band’s debut album Weird Sister is to be released via Fortuna POP! (UK) and Slumberland (US) on 16 September.