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Jun 03, 2026 By Dom Gourlay Web Exclusive

They say time can be a great healer and in the case of Sugar, the three decades they’ve been away has given them the opportunity to re-evaluate their near-flawless back catalogue while providing an impetus to reconnect, write and record new material in the process. When the trio - Bob Mould (vocals, guitar), David Barbe (vocals, bass) and Malcolm Travis (drums) - announced their reunion late last year; initially to see if anyone was still interested; it probably took them by surprise just how much interest was generated by their comeback single “House Of Dead Memories” and the subsequent tour six months later.

Despite having played in numerous bands over the years - Mould being a founder member of legendary hardcore band Hüsker Dü, Barbe with Mercyland and Travis in Human Sexual Response among others - the trio hit on the perfect formula with Sugar. Having formed in 1992 and signed to Creation Records shortly after, Sugar became one of the most popular bands on the indie/alternative rock scene during their admittedly short three years of being active. Debut album Copper Blue is still cited as one of that decade’s finest while follow-up File Under: Easy Listening was perhaps a tad unfortunate to come out around the same time Britpop took off despite packing a similar punch to its predecessor.

In between those two long players, 1993’s Beaster EP reaffirmed their status as one of the most prolific bands of the decade, something that was further accentuated by the b-sides compilation Besides which came out six months after the band’s split at the beginning of 1995. While active, Sugar’s outlook was always forward thinking and never nostalgia driven. The axis between hardcore and indie rock but heavier and more dynamic. “If REM were a punk band this is what they’d sound like,” insists one punter we encounter early on in the set.

And what a set they choose to deliver on this balmy Sunday evening. Consisting of twenty-four songs in total covering all of the aforementioned records and more. From the moment they commence with a blistering rendition of Copper Blue opener “The Act We Act” - Mould and Barbe both bouncing around the stage as if they never got any older since 1992 - it becomes a full throttle, no holds barred deep-dive into one of the most precious back catalogues from that era.

The same album’s lead singles “A Good Idea” and “Changes” follow suit and Rock City is bouncing with them, singing along joyously to every word. It says a lot about the rest of their material when a band can dispatch its two best known songs within the first few minutes of an hour-and-a-half long set, such is the quality of Sugar’s output.

A trio of songs from the File Under: Uneasy Listening era follow as a dramatic run through “Company Book” gives way to b-sides “All The Roads Lead To Nowhere” and “In The Eyes Of My Friends”. Each song delivered in its own inimitable way. Slightly deviating from its recorded version but in a way that screams “We’re going to knock you off your feet!” Indeed, watching Sugar perform is a privilege in itself, not least in the way their sonic onslaught for a three-piece defines the old adage less-is-more.

Mould makes reference to the last time Sugar played in Nottingham (Trent Polytechnic, September 1992) and another Copper Blue favourite “Hoover Dam” is delivered with a precision only musicians as seasoned as this could muster. Proving they have better b-sides than many of their peers’ singles, “Where Diamonds Are Halos” and “Running Out Of Time” serve as timely reminders of what a formidable force Sugar were the first time around and still are today.

While the two recent singles “House Of Dead Memories” and “Long Live Love” hint at a rekindled greatness while wishfully suggesting a new Sugar album might be on the horizon. Back to their catalogue, rousing renditions of “I Can’t Help You Anymore” and “Explode And Make Up” are as good an excuse as any to revisit that aforementioned sophomore album from 1994. While the three songs aired off Beaster (“Come Around”, “Tilted”, “JC Auto”) sounded as fresh and invigorating as they did the first time around some thirty-three years ago.

Two of the band’s biggest singles (“Helpless” and “If I Can’t Change Your Mind”) bookend the band’s final 45 from their first term “Gee Angel”, by which point the room is a sea of waving arms, flailing bodies and loud voices singing every word back at the stage.

With dates confirmed until the end of October the ‘Love You Even Still’ tour rolls on unabated, and as reunions go in 2026 it really doesn’t get much better than this.