Close your eyes. Close them against visual overload – the flying toy souvenirs, the homemade commedia dell'arte costumery, the live show detritus that draws in the cheap seaters and thrill seekers – and let your ears do the walking. [For a change.]

And what floods over you, and your ears, first briefly and then with a rapidly escalating torrent of Mahavishnu, Zappa and light heavyweight prog is this thing that SUGAR SKULLS does on their newest, The Little Death. Mixing equal parts metal, classical, and pop in an experimental mélange of kitchen sink sonics [yeah, everything BUT], Heidi Nebel [keyboards], Kory Christian [drums], Julie Baldridge [violin], and Ursula Beatrice Stuart [bass], the SUGAR SKULLS in total, will KILL you.
In a good way.

Like they will, on stage, screen and stereo with The Little Death. Like they have at gigs with everyone from SEAN, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, the Ruins, and Lesbian. Which leads back to The Little Death. And your ears.

So now open your eyes.

Ladies and Gentlemen: Seattle's SUGAR SKULLS.

--Eugene S. Robinson (OXBOW, Author, Hydrahead Records)