Beaster

Bob Mould said of Beaster:

{{blockquote|I'm sure some people are going to perceive this as some sort of step backwards from the previous album. Some people will say it's self-indulgent. Almost anything short of community service usually is. People who have seen the band live will know this is not the case. This is the other side of Sugar that some people haven't seen yet, a style that we really enjoy. The presentation of the material is very demanding, very open to extrapolation, very fresh to us. You can make whatever you want out of it, that's what music is supposed to be about. Sometimes the experience of making music, or listening to music, shouldn't be overanalyzed and dissected. To me, that's what this piece of work is about.{{cite web|author=Granary Music|author2=Bob Mould|author3=Sugar|author4=Husker Du |url=http://www.granarymusic.com/archive/last-dog-and-pony-show/discography/sugar/beaster.html |title=Sugar Complete Discography - Beaster |publisher=Granary Music |date=1999-03-15 |accessdate=2012-01-15}}}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/beaster-ep-mw0000618529|title=Beaster EP – Sugar|publisher=AllMusic|accessdate=July 1, 2020|last=Rabid|first=Jack}}

| rev2 = Chicago Tribune

| rev2score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}{{cite news|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-04-09-9304090175-story.html|title=All Dressed Up...|work=Chicago Tribune|date=April 9, 1993|accessdate=July 1, 2020|last=Kot|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Kot}}

| rev3 = Entertainment Weekly

| rev3score = C+{{cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/1993/04/16/beaster/|title=Beaster|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=April 16, 1993|accessdate=July 1, 2020|last=Browne|first=David|author-link=David Browne (journalist)}}

| rev4 = Mojo

| rev4score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|title=Sugar: Copper Blue / Beaster / File Under: Easy Listening|magazine=Mojo|issue=224|date=July 2012|page=100}}

| rev5 = NME

| rev5score = 9/10{{cite magazine|title=Sugar: Beaster|magazine=NME|date=April 3, 1993|page=27}}

| rev6 = Orlando Sentinel

| rev6score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite news|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/os-xpm-1993-04-30-9304290682-story.html|title=Sugar|work=Orlando Sentinel|date=April 30, 1993|accessdate=July 1, 2020|last=Gettelman|first=Parry}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7score = 9.0/10{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16862-sugar-reissues/|title=Sugar: Sugar Reissues|work=Pitchfork|date=July 30, 2012|accessdate=July 1, 2020|last=Harvey|first=Eric}}

| rev8 = Q

| rev8score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine|title=Sugar: Beaster|magazine=Q|issue=80|date=May 1993|last=Snow|first=Mat|author-link=Mat Snow|page=94}}

| rev9 = The Rolling Stone Album Guide

| rev9score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite book|chapter=Sugar|last=Kot|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Kot|title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide|title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide|editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian|publisher=Fireside Books|location=London|edition=4th|year=2004|isbn=0-7432-0169-8|page=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/790 790]}}

| rev10 = Select

| rev10score = 5/5{{cite magazine|title=Praise Bob!|magazine=Select|issue=35|date=May 1993|last=Cavanagh|first=David|author-link=David Cavanagh|page=93}}

}}

"Audibly a disciple of Hendrix, McGuinn and Page, and propelled by the supreme engine room of bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis, Mould's sound is dense but never turgid," wrote Mat Snow for Q. "Better still, his melodic instinct to head for the heights of epiphany remains intact; though on the face of it not a song here should raise even the thinnest wintry smile, tune-wise they beam with vitality and engagement." A retrospective review in Q maintained the 4|5 rating. "Mould called Beaster 'the bad Sugar' (destined, sadly, to be followed by the 'crap Sugar' of File Under: Easy Listening)," wrote Danny Eccleston, "and alongside his solo Workbook, it's about the best thing in his bulging portfolio."{{cite magazine|title=Sugar: Beaster|magazine=Q|issue=117|date=June 1996|last=Eccleston|first=Danny}}

"It starts with an acoustic guitar," wrote David Cavanagh for Select, "achieves limitless levels of beauty in its 30 minutes and ends with the most gorgeous piece of music Bob Mould has been involved with since his heart-stopping solo on 'Green Eyes' off Flip Your Wig." "Rarely has a band rocked out with such bleak intensity and utter conviction," opined The Times. "A vast cathedral of noise and despair, erected and demolished in half an hour flat, this is an album which has to be heard to be believed."The Times, c. May 1993, precise date unknown

"Sugar are about the turmoil of the interior life," observed Melody Maker, "which is maybe why an album like Beaster is best listened to loud on the headphones at home rather than live."Melody Maker, c. May 1993, precise date unknown "The dark but insidiously catchy companion to Copper Blue confirms what those in the know had predicted," concluded The Daily Telegraph, "Sugar are definitely The Next Big Thing."The Daily Telegraph, c. May 1993, precise date unknown

{{track listing

| all_writing = Bob Mould, except as noted.

| headline =

| title1 = Come Around

| length1 = 4:52

| title2 = Tilted

| length2 = 4:08

| title3 = Judas Cradle

| length3 = 6:15

| title4 = JC Auto

| length4 = 6:13

| title5 = Feeling Better

| length5 = 6:22

| title6 = Walking Away

| length6 = 3:00

}}

{{track listing

| headline = 2012 edition – Disc two – DVD

| title1 = Tilted

| note1 = Promo video

| title2 = The Act We Act

| title3 = A Good Idea

| title4 = Changes

| title5 = Beer Commercial

| writer5 = David Barbe

}}

• DVD tracks 2 to 5 were filmed live at Finsbury Park June 13, 1993

• Bob Mould – guitars, vocals, keyboards, percussion
• David Barbe – bass
• Malcolm Travis – Drums, Percussion

• Bob Mould, Lou Giordano – producer, engineer
• Tom Bender – assistant mixing engineer
• recorded at The Outpost, Stoughton, MA; mixed at Carriage House, Stamford, CT
• Howie Weinberg – mastering engineer
• mastered at Masterdisk, New York
• Sandra-Lee Phipps, Russell Kaye – photography

|-

! scope="row"|US Billboard Independent Albums

|align="center"|46{{ref label|note_a1|A|}}

|}

Note

• A{{Note|note_a1}}Chart placing refers to 2012 release Copper Blue/Beaster.

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.granarymusic.com/archive/last-dog-and-pony-show/discography/sugar/beaster.html Granary Music] Bob Mould's thoughts on the making of Beaster

{{Sugar (American band)}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1993 debut EPs

Category:Sugar (American band) albums

Category:Albums produced by Bob Mould

Category:Albums produced by Lou Giordano

Category:Rykodisc EPs