Palm Trees and Power Lines

Palm Trees and Power Lines
Studio album by Sugarcult
Released	April 13, 2004
Studio	Full Kilt Studio, Third Stone Recordings, Hollywood, California
Genre	Alternative rock, pop punk
Length	40:43
Label	Fearless, Artemis
Producer	Gavin MacKillop
Sugarcult chronology
Start Static (2001) Palm Trees and Power Lines (2004) A Hard Day's Night (2005)

Palm Trees and Power Lines is the fourth studio album by American rock band Sugarcult. The album contains the MTV hits "Memory" and "She's the Blade".^[1]

Production

Recording took place at Full Kilt Studio and Third Stone Recording in North Hollywood, California with producer Gavin MacKillop. Additional production was done by Tim Pagnotta. Wes Sideman acted as assistant engineer at Third Stone Recording. John Nooney, Mauro Rubbi and Trent Slatton engineered the Pro-Tools sessions. Tim Cullen provided additional backing vocals. Alain Johannes performed additional guitar. Nooney and Ariel Rechtshaid contributed keyboards. Slatton provided programming. Tom Lord-Alge mixed "She's the Blade", "Crying", "Memory", "Back to California" and "Over" at South Beach Studio. Mark Trombino mixed "Worst December" and "Champagne" at Chalice Recording Studios with assistance from Alan Mason. Mackillop mixed "Destination Anywhere", "What You Say", "Head Up" and "Counting Stars". Evan Frankfort mixed "Sign Off". Brian Gardner mastered the recordings at Bernie Grudman Mastering in Hollywood, California.^[2]

Release

"Memory" was released to radio on March 16, 2004.^[3] It was released on April 13. The album is named after the scenery in California where the band members live, as the skyline is littered with palm trees and power lines.^[4] On the album cover, a few pieces of Californian scenery can be seen in the background, such as a liquor store, which Pagnotta visits in the documentary Back to the Disaster. "She's the Blade" was released to radio on August 31.^[3]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[5]
The Daily Californian	Favorable [6]
Drowned in Sound	6/10[7]
musicOMH	Favorable [8]
PopMatters	Favorable [9]
Rolling Stone	[10]
Spin	C-[11]

Palm Trees and Power Lines received mixed to favorable reviews from critics. Johnny Loftus of Allmusic gives a favorable review, concluding that "Sugarcult are thankfully more concerned with pleasing the crowd than making a statement." Punktastic characterizes the album as "one hell of a grower," a record "that shows maturity without ever coming across as trite or predictable." The review goes on to call the album "a fine record which, while not as anthemic and instant as its predecessor, is destined to be a sure-fire summer hit."

Track listing

All songs by Tim Pagnotta, all music by Pagnotta and Sugarcult.^[2]

1. "She's the Blade" – 2:59
2. "Crying" – 3:29
3. "Memory" – 3:46
4. "Worst December" – 3:37
5. "Back to California" – 4:07
6. "Destination Anywhere" – 3:51
7. "Champagne" – 2:56
8. "What You Say" – 2:39
9. "Over" – 3:24
10. "Head Up" – 3:56
11. "Counting Stars" – 3:38
12. "Sign Off" – 2:13
13. "Blackout" (Japanese bonus track) – 3:10

Track list information

• An acoustic version of "Memory" was released on the compilation album Punk Goes Acoustic.

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.^[2]

Sugarcult Tim Pagnotta – vocals, guitar Marko 72 – guitar Airin Older – bass, vocals Kenny Livingston – drums Additional musicians Tim Cullen – additional backing vocals Alain Johannes – additional guitar John Nooney – keyboards Ariel Rechtshaid – keyboards Trent Slatton – programming

Production Gavin Mackillop – producer, recording; mixing (tracks 6, 8, 10 and 11) Nick Condodina – enhanced CD footage Sim Klugerman – enhanced CD footage Sugarcult – enhanced CD footage John Logsdon – enhanced CD editing Piper Ferguson – band photos Lisa Johnson – band photos Yoshika Horita – band photos Gregg Kulick – art direction, design Tom Lord-Alge – mixing (tracks 1–3, 5 and 9) Mark Trombino – mixing (tracks 4 and 7) Alan Manson – mixing assistant Evan Frankfort – mixing (track 12) Brian Gardner – mastering Wes Sideman – assistant engineer John Nooney – Pro-Tools engineer Mauro Rubbi – Pro-Tools engineer, drum tech Trent Slatton – Pro-Tools engineer Tim Pagnotta – additional production

References

1. SPIN - Oct 2006 - Page 104 Vol. 22, No. 10 "Sugarcult. Lights Out *•* FEARLESS/V2 Raging riffs for getting drunk and getting lucky Though these SoCal pop punks sneaked onto MTV with their 2004 single "Memory," the hard-partying reputation they earned after the song's success was ..."
2. Palm Trees and Power Lines (Booklet). Sugarcult. Fearless/Artemis. 2004. RCD17018.
3. "FMQB Airplay Archive: Modern Rock". Friday Morning Quarterback Album Report, Incorporated. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
4. Black Velvet, Shari. "All Roads Lead To Sugarcult". Retrieved 2007-05-14.
5. Allmusic review
6. http://archive.dailycal.org/article.php?id=14960
7. http://drownedinsound.com/releases/3658/reviews/9458-
8. http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/sugarcult-palm-trees-and-power-lines
9. http://www.popmatters.com/review/sugarcult-palmtrees/
10. "Rolling Stone review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2007. Retrieved 13 September 2014.
11. https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=Is53I1fXC1YC&lpg=PP1&pg=PA108#v=onepage&q&f=false

External links

• Official website