Rock’s top women over the past decade including the likes of Brody Dahl, Hayley Williams, Gwen Stefani and the more recent Lzzy Hale of Halestorm and Becca McIntyre of Marmozets all have at least one thing in common. They have never supported Britney Spears, and weren’t signed to EMI aged 14. Well Sever has done both, the alter-ego of Skye Sweetnam, front woman for Sumo Cyco, and she is here to destroy what you previously envisaged as a normal route into the rock world and shows that the cross over can work just fine.
Tired of the world of major labels, in 2011, Sever side-tracked hugely from her previous musical leanings, and created Sumo Cyco, a riffy, metal-pop fusion with all the stylistic polishing of a Britney record, the oddity and panache of a Manson release and some quite joyous samples thrown in just ‘cause they can.
It is an album of exuberance and novelty and first thoughts before listening to ‘Lost In Cyco City’ might lean towards a flash in the pan, one hit wonder. On your head be it, Sumo Cyco have crafted an LP that is super fun and exciting, but also delivers in terms of quality and style. With serious accolades under their belt, such as winners of the The John Lennon Songwriting Contest’s Vans Warped Tour Prize, sharing the stage with the likes of Coal Chamber and Filter, and currently working on new material with Circa Survive and Skindred, Sumo Cyco are carving a path though unfamiliar territory but with the radar locked on ‘superstardom’.
Opening track ‘Fighter’ is aptly named, Sever launching in with some highly poppy lyrics, before a contagious metal riff wallops you in the chest, not unlike the chug associated with Coal Chamber. It is an intoxicating blend of No Doubt and Skindred, bottled with unique, big label style production grooves and packaged in a loud and trashy cover, a ‘War Of The Worlds’ esque image portraying the domination of the human race, perhaps a fitting metaphor for the bands takeover of the world’s stereos and radio stations.
Industrial grooves and fast paced punk styled beats bring in ‘Fuel My Fire’, Sever’s vocals crisp and impressive, her inviting you ‘to get rowdy’, police sirens whooping away, the amazing quality of the album evident throughout. ‘The Ugly’ contains some amusing carnival style horn and ‘Like a Killer’ starts like a heavier Green Day, before the energetic breakdown in ‘Cry Murder’ makes it impossible to doubt the sheer brilliance of this release.
Sumo Cyco is not going to be to everyone’s tastes and certainly controversy will inevitably follow, but as this train smashes into town, one should don their hat to a brave new world, one where jumping the big label ship can pay dividends and re-launch a career. ‘Lost in Cyco City’ has enabled Sumo Cyco to find their way and it might not be long before the album finds it way on to many a shelf, at the very least guilty pleasure personified.
DAVE BULL