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TRACK: Black Friday

WHO: Leeds-based retro-modernists The Sugars.

THE HYPE: “They've got fruity looks and catchy tunes to boot.” - This Is Fake DIY

WHAT: Blood-pumping, foot-stomping quiffed-up rock and/or roll.

WE SAY: There’s a moment in Russ Meyer’s insanely debauched Sixties classic Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls where rock promoter Z-Man decided to rename the girl band to help bring them up to date: “Your name sounds so Fifties,” he explains. “You might as well call yourselves The Haircuts.” You have to wonder whether The Sugars, with such a quant-sounding handle, are trying the same trick in reverse.

The Fifties touches abound – from singer Matt Bolton’s vibrato to the bass that throbs angrily like a drag racer engine, right down to the cut of their cloth. But their’s is not the same breezy world of milkshakes and gingham that The Pipettes and Kitty Daisy & Lewis inhabit, it’s one of raw garage energy, the thunderous scuzz of Link Wray, that layer of grimy fuzz that Tarantino likes to apply liberally over all his films.

But this is no museum exhibit. With Cribs producer Will Jackson on the twiddles, The Sugars always make sure they balance out the retro with pulsating dancefloor-friendly beats.

And it seems to have worked – XFM and 6Music are already firm fans of the UK’s very own Blues Explosion.

IF YOU ONLY NEED TO KNOW ONE THING: Possibly in a tribute to Spinal Tap, the band recently recruited drummer Alex to replace Jodie, who suffered an injury that forced her to quit. This means Alex will explode some time in the near future. Not that I’m wishing it to happen, I’m just putting it out there.

WHERE CAN I GET MY HANDS ON IT: Black Friday is out now on Bad Sneakers. Their album, The Curse Of The Sugars, follows on July 7.

FIND MORE: www.myspace.com/thesugars

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