most of you probably first heard of sugarcult with their insanely catchy debut single "bouncing off the walls" along with it being the theme of the ever-popular college movie "van wilder". not me, though. i first heard of them when i was disc jockeying for a college alternative rock station in late 2002. when djing i got a playlist of new songs to air and "pretty girl" from sugarcult was one of them. i played it and was instantly hooked by the catchy, yet dark pop-punk song. I then researched the band more and then found out they sang that catchy "bouncing off the walls" song and i was like "oh, they sung that? cool." so i bought "start static" and i loved it. fast forward two years to 2004 and "palm trees and powerlines". i too love that album for their continous catchy hooks and memorable songs. palm trees showed a slight maturity growth in the band but was still distinctly sugarcult.

Now in 2006, sugarcult release their 3rd and perhaps final album "lights out". as if the closing track on "lights out" (hiatus) is foreshadowing enough, i've read in interviews where frontman tom pagnotta is closing in on 30 and how he's tired of living the rock star life and how he wants a normal life. by being a rockstar, he can't have that he says. you can tell by listening to the album that it's almost channeling tom and his longing to be a normal guy with stability and a family life. guitarist marko72 also stated that this could be very well be their last album as a band.

with that said, if they called it quits i think the band could leave the music scene content with what they left the world. "lights out" is without a doubt their best album to date and is their masterpiece IMO. all their records have been great thus far, but this one seems to be the best and most mature. i think any record they made after this would be redundant or treading water (so to speak). the record shines with what sugarcult does best which is writing incredibly catchy songs. the album is trademark sugarcult but it has something more to it than their other albums had. the overall sound of the album is a lot more emotional, danceable, and even darker. it seems that sugarcult has always been associated with the "pop-punk" label, but not anymore. this record is more rock and you can tell a huge improvement on the guitars due to the fact it seems there's more going on with them (there's even solos).

overall, the album's raw lyrically and emotionally... yet still refined, darker, and is just a great rock record displaying some of sugarcult's best work to date. so i say to the band, bravo! on making a great career record which is "lights out". while others might disagree with me on this being their best, there's no denying that it's a great record that every sugarcult fan should own. even if your new to the band, (and probably living under a rock) you should own this great rock record. recommended to all...

I've been a fan of Sugarcult since the beginning and this CD has to be one of their best. The songs on this album have a lot of emotional attachment to them and this makes them even better. If you're a fan of Sugarcult or if you've never listened to them you should def. get this and give it a listen. Also if you get a chance to catch Sugarcult on tour you shouldn't pass it up. They put on an amazing concert!

Have loved the previously released music from this band, and this new CD seems like an amazing culmination of musical and personal development. Songs like "Los Angeles," and "Out of Phase" stand out to me as shining examples of Sugarcult's development as a band. The lyrics are amazing with depth and sophistication, but the music is still rockin'. Some nice 80's-like elements give the music a fun, bright sound, but the core of the music is still guitar-burning rock n roll. Lots of musical styles, but each seems to merely reflect different sides of the recurring themes in the lyrics. Sorry this sounds so nerdy, but I'll finish by saying that this is a great rock album with plenty of musical and lyrical elements to attract a wide audience from teen emo heads to older folks who miss good ole rock n roll.

Well i disagree with the guy "Robert" who posted his little view on the new sugarcult album "Lights Out." I think this is one of there best albums besides strat static. Palm Trees and Power Lines had like two good songs on it... that album was terrible.... lights out brought them back up and is showing that band like them are getting better musicly.... This album has amazing lyrics, good means, great guitar parts and everything about this album is great.... i think that everyone should own this album and they will understand what i'm talking about.

I love the group, love the music, love the cd. I have lent the cd to friends who totally agree.