Oklahoma Rock
March 27, 2005

Sugar Free Allstars have delivered the goods with ¡Dos Machos!, an album that does a fine job dodging the "sophomore slump."
The machos of SFA, Chris Wiser and Rob "Dr. Rock" Martin, have crafted an album that nicks liberally from the classic rock playbook-arrangements frequently (and favorably) call to mind the kind of jazz-rock Donald Fagen and Walter Becker produced with Steely Dan's Two Against Nature, while "Cover Band Boyfriend" has a melody that is dangerously close to Springsteen's "Pink Cadillac."
There are plenty of modern touchstones, too: "The Way That It Goes" transmogrifies David Bowie's paranoid, menacing synth bass of "I'm Afraid of Americans" into something similar to Cake; "The Way That I Felt Today" sounds like a long-lost Jon Spencer cut (thankfully, Wiser refrains from shouting "Sugar Free is number one!") Familiarity, however, can (and usually does) hamstring lesser acts than SFA. To their credit, Wiser and Martin ably avoid cliche, instead producing something that does a fine job of sounding familiar without seeming stale. The songs themselves paint a portrait of post-collegiate life in Norman. When Wiser triumphs, as in the moody break-up lament "My Key" or the excellent, wiggly clavi-funk of "Ain't No Crime," the songs embrace the elements of Dude Life in a joyous, keys-and-drums bear hug. The only missteps come when the songs' populace seems one-dimensional, as in "Buddhist in a Beemer," or during "Cornbread"; Wiser's talking-blues tribute to baked goods feels like filler between two much stronger tracks. The real leap forward in this album is its production: the sound of ¡Dos Machos! is warm and thick.  The low end is commanding without being muddy- SFA's sound is built on a foundation of rumbling organs and thunder-crack snares. The occasional appearance of violin, horns, wah-guitar, and Moog are neither buried under the other layers of sound, nor do they sound tacked-on; rather, the blend of sounds comes across as deliberate and welcome. This is one of the best-sounding albums I've heard in a while. Wiser and Martin have delivered an exceptionally listener-friendly disc that would make an excellent soundtrack for back-porch barbecues, summertime beer runs, and late-night bull sessions. You can purchase Sugar Free Allstars' ¡Dos Machos! at Guestroom Records, Size Records, Rainbow Records or online at sugarfreeallstars.com.

- Michael Ross
www.OklahomaRock.com