http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/11982/86183

Choice Cuts: December 2001

Author: Adam McKibbin

Published on: December 4, 2001

Artist: Sugarplum Fairies

Album: Flake

The Scoop: Continuing with this month’s theme, this is another album that came out a bit ago but deserves attention. Vienna-raised and L.A.-based duo Silvia Ryder and Ben Bohm are the nucleus of Sugarplum Fairies (the supporting cast is ever-rotating). Their Flake seems borne of a different, happier era (namely, the early 90’s).

Highlight Track: "10 Cents Philosophies" reminds you of when you could turn on the radio and hear a good "pop" song. The ingredients aren’t new—a lead guitar riff that could have come from The Cure catalog, driving percussion, a propellant bass line, and a quiet verse/rousing chorus structure—but, damn, it sure does work when it’s done right. Best of all, it’s kept to a tight three minutes (the perfect pop song length, as you loyal readers will remember from an earlier interview with The Timbre Project). Just long enough to sink in your skin, but short enough to have you reaching for the repeat button cuz you haven’t had enough.

Honorable Mention: "Cupcake" is, finally, a female protagonist for the grunge generation. "I am not that kind of girl who really cares," Ryder sings, "Carrying lipstick everywhere / I just sit around." "Cupcake" serves as a sort of aural bridge between Nirvana and Hole, while Ryder’s dreamily detached delivery gives it a feel of its own.