SUGAR – the iconic alternative rock trio led by Bob Mould alongside bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis – returned this week with their first new music together in over three decades, ‘House of Dead Memories‘. Recorded at Tiny Telephone Oakland in June 2025, the song is available everywhere now via Granary Music/BMG
Listen to ‘House of Dead Memories’
Watch the official video
In addition, SUGAR will celebrate ‘House of Dead Memories’ with their first live performances together since January 1995, set for New York City’s Webster Hall on Saturday, May 2nd (tickets here) and Sunday, May 3rd, 2026 (tickets here) and London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town on Saturday, May 23ndand Sunday, May 24th, 2026 (tickets here).
Next month will also see SUGAR’s essential 1992 debut album, Copper Blue, commemorated with Copper Blue – The Singles Collection, a limited edition 4LP box set to be released by BMG on Record Store Day Black Friday, November 28th. The new box set collects such anthemic favourites as ‘Changes‘, ‘A Good Idea‘, and ‘If I Can’t Change Your Mind‘, all originally released on 12″ vinyl in the UK via Creation Records backed with beloved B-sides like ‘Needle Hits E‘ and ‘Clownmaster’, as well as live recordings from SUGAR’s 1992 performance at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro. Copper Blue – The Singles Collection now sees those classic releases returning to vinyl with original artwork and tracklistings lovingly restored. In addition, ‘Helpless‘ – previously released only on CD – is presented here on 12″ vinyl for the first time alongside updated B-sides, finally joining its companions in its full glory.
“SUGAR was a meteorite,” says Bob Mould. “I spent all of 1991 writing and performing new material at solo shows. David and Malcolm had never met but I was certain we three would work well together.
“SUGAR was a workhorse. After weeks of rehearsal in early 1992, we spent three months recording Copper Blue and Beaster. By summer 1992, the musical climate was perfect for what we created.
“SUGAR was a phenomena. No one could have predicted the results. We held onto the wheel and did our best to enjoy the wild ride. Sugar was part of a pivotal era in popular music, and a special time in my life.”
Having already placed his indelible mark on the future direction of rock with Hüsker Dü, Bob Mould teamed with bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis to found SUGAR in late 1991, making their live debut early the next year at Athens, GA’s famed 40 Watt Club. Named by NME as its 1992 Album of the Year, SUGAR’s now-classic debut album, Copper Blue, immediately proved a sensation, earning worldwide acclaim and landmark status for the melodic strength and intensely cathartic popcraft of songs like ‘A Good Idea’, ‘Helpless’, and the alternative rock radio hit and MTV favourite, ‘If I Can’t Change Your Mind’. The trio quickly found themselves performing on increasingly larger stages, including a legendary show-stealing set at London’s Great X-pectations Festival in Finsbury Park.
David Barbe recalls, “Since we last played in 1995, I have worked on hundreds of records and engaged with music people all over the world. When the subject of SUGAR comes up, it is like a misty legend that they either remember from a long time ago or have only heard about. I am excited for fans to experience it in the real.”
“The return of SUGAR is a moment that I’ve been dreaming about for a very long time,” says Malcolm Travis. “What we managed to accomplish in the short span of time we were in existence still boggles my mind. There was so much packed into that period….the travel, the shows, the recordings and getting to meet so many people who loved and supported us. To get back to working together again with Bob and David is such a gift and I’m looking forward to what the future has in store for us.”
With the wind at their back, SUGAR unleashed Beaster in 1993, making a momentous debut at #3 on the UK’s Official Albums Chart as well as at #4 on Billboard‘s Heatseekers chart in the US. Though recorded during the same sessions that yielded Copper Blue, the six-song mini-album evinced a more visceral energy and dark melancholy than its predecessor, highlighted by such pulverising expressions of sacrilegious fury as ‘Judas Cradle‘ and ‘JC Auto‘. 1994’s second full-length LP, File Under: Easy Listening once again made an explosive arrival among the top 10 on the UK Official Albums Chart, this time landing in the upper reaches of the overall Billboard 200. The album saw SUGAR pushing boundaries yet again on songs like the country-flavoured ‘Believe What You’re Saying‘ and the incendiary ‘Gee Angel‘, tackling a wider range of musical approaches without sacrificing their signature intensity and unrestrained power. Despite their successes, SUGAR called it a day following a Japanese tour in early 1995. A series of live recordings, reissues, and anthologies served to magnify the band’s legacy over the three decades since, confirming SUGAR as incontrovertible masters of high-volume guitar-fueled rock for the ages. The original members of SUGAR reconvened in June 2025 to record ‘House of Dead Memories’, the first new SUGAR song in over three decades.
“The long pause is over. I’m excited to hit the PLAY button. See you in 2026!” – Bob Mould
“Can’t wait to bring it to the people in 2026….fasten your seatbelts folks.” – Malcolm Travis
“I am really looking forward to these shows. It will all get real when I feel Bob’s amp shaking my pants legs again.” – David Barbe
SUGAR – Copper Blue – The Singles Collection // BMG – 28/11/2025
LP1:
A1. Changes
A2. Needle Hits E
B1. If I Can’t Change Your Mind (Solo Mix)
B2. Try Again
LP2:
A1. Helpless
A2. The Act We Act*
B1. The Slim*
B2. Man on the Moon*
LP3:
A1. A Good Idea
B1. Where Diamonds Are Halos*
B2. Slick*
B3. Armenia City in the Sky*
LP4:
A1. If I Can’t Change Your Mind
A2. Clownmaster
B1. Anyone*
B2. Hoover Dam*
* Live at Cabaret Metro, Chicago, Illinois, 22nd July 1992
