Hey, everyone. Sweathony Shirttano here, the Internet's busiest music nerd. It's time for a review of this new Sugar Pit album, Shh... Don't Jinx It.

We have the debut album here from singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, Mr. Kian Stevens Wilson, aka Sugar Pit. Someone who I have been aware of for a minute now, really since they started to gain momentum off of some 2023 singles that lightly poked fun at some late stage capitalist economics, talking about tracks like "Customer Service", "Supply Demand", "Compete". The songs that, while they may not be everyone's cup of tea, still had a lot going for them in terms of rock and groups, big over-the-top choruses, scuzzy production, and vocals that were loaded with personality. Also, in addition to that, an opinion, a perspective, a point of view – something I feel is lacking in a lot of music these days as over stimulated and fickle fans leave artists fearing to say anything that might alienate a few people or cause them to think.

Anyway, in a short period of time off of a couple of tracks and social media posts, Sugar Pit certainly had me convinced that he was an artist worth watching, and that's what I did.

And now he has suddenly dropped a full-length debut album with the shot clock running out in 2024. It's a project that somehow feels a little rushed, despite the fact that Kian has been dropping singles really throughout the year. Regardless, though, this album is out now via Atlantic Records. It's 30 minutes in length. It's actually stated in the final moments of this project – that is how long Kian had to make it in order to meet the length requirements of this being an album. I certainly appreciate the transparency of that.

Still, I went into this thing with a mix of excitement and worry because one, I think Sugar Pit brings a lot of potential to the table. I think it's especially cool that this project operates in a lot of genres that I usually favor. Plus, I find Kian's self-awareness and sense of humor refreshing. But by that same token, part of me wonders if he's taking this approach to putting out a full-length album maybe a bit too casually. Is he doing this just because it feels like it's the time to do it, he needs to get it over with, or just check some accomplishment box? Plus a few of the teasers in the lead up to this album I found to be derivative to a fault. Be that "Magic", whose dance beats and spoken word vocals and repetitive bass lines are very, very, very LCD Soundsystem, especially with the Dare already out there struggling with those constant comparisons.

I will give it to Kian, though. His lyrics on this track are a lot less cringe by comparison, and his vocals do bring a certain impassioned chaos that I feel like defines a lot of his work.

There's also "Making Friends with Cops", which I'm surprised this track hasn't been dissected for being the unabashed Beck worship that it is. There's also a general '90s rock pastiche coming off the track "Tools of Mass Destruction", too. In a way I feel like lacks a twist or a touch of inspiration.

As long as I'm comparing, the track "Stimulation" reads like a Remain in Light, Talking Heads era track, but if it were written and produced by the guy who's bumming cigs outside of your local basement show.

With that being said, though, there are plenty of deeper cuts and teasers on this record that bring some more original ideas, bolder messaging, genuinely rowdy and fun performances.

I would point directly to the stellar run of tracks in the first half, starting with "Data", which is like this chugging piece of cowbell rock with just a massive chorus. Think like the type of arena rock that has the entire audience just clapping stepping above their heads. But it's being pulled together on a squatter punk budget. Yeah, the track is chock full of funny lyrics about data and digital information, and this idea of making it last forever in the same way that people think of things on the internet never really having a shelf life.

There's also "Making a Living", which features some very quirky drum machine beats, tense vocals, both of which are very Devo all the way, both in aesthetics and in spirit, as there is an element of dystopia to the lyrics on this one, as the track is very much about the irony of making work for yourself as a weirdo artist in the internet age. But there's a contrast going on here with the instrumental, sounding so light and upbeat and fun.

Following this, "Jesus POV" is like a master class on how to assemble a lofi, terminally online punk anthem. The riffs and production and distortion on the vocals are very much giving like late era indie lofi, but with punchier beats and lots of clever lyrical allusions to the ways in which Sugar Pit's existence and come up mirrors that of Jesus. Obviously, this is done in a tongue-and-cheek fashion. If the track is lacking anything, I feel like it's bigger verses that draw even more in-depth and detailed comparisons.

Around the midpoint, we get the track "Sex Party", which is really bordering on a bit of comedy rock in a way that bands like The Evaporators or the Aquabats or even the Dead Milkmen used to deliver. And honestly, it's one of the best tracks here if you're willing to suspend the need for an artist of this style to be super serious, because if there's anything about Sugar Pit, it's that he doesn't take himself that seriously. Still, though, it is impressive how in-detail he goes to satirize the idea of a zany orgy and give it the production treatment of an over the top party rock anthem.

Past this point, there are a few more highlights to go, like "Massive", which is another groovy number in the tracklist that brings disco post-punk fusion vibes, especially on the drums and bass lines. And while this is nothing new for the record, I have to admit that Kian does have a knack for satire and spoken word passages as he pokes fun at things like technological breakthroughs and massive real estate developments and the metaverse.

"Rockstar Fantasy" is just a big elaborate rock joke about exactly that. One average sniveling desk worker's sad internal dialogue about how he would like to be a rock star.

Then "Back to the Start" is a very fun angular closer that gets quite meta toward the end of the album to finish things out. Once again, I would say big evaporators and Narduwar vibes are coming off of this one for sure. Overall, it's just a great self-aware note that completes the record well.

But yeah, Shh... Don't Jinx It I feel like is a solid debut. It's a fine debut. It is a good compilation of sorts of everything I feel like Kian is capable of as of this moment as Sugar Pit. But with that being said, I feel like, creatively, there is still room to branch out. I feel like as far as Sugar Pit's style and sound goes, more development is certainly necessary, if Kian wishes for this project to not just merely exist in the shadow of its very obvious influences.

Sometimes the songwriting is a bit scant or could have gone a bit further in terms of lyrical detail or focus. The tracklist, though, still does contain a lot more bops than flops. And at 30 minutes, this thing is not overstaying its welcome. It's a pretty fun project, which is why I'm feeling a decent 7 on this thing.

Anthony Fantano, Sugar Pit, Forever.