Shuga - Hey Baby

London based trio Shuga’s debut single ‘Hey Baby’ is perhaps the most stripped down, raucous and rough and ready debut single you will hear all year. Comprising nothing more than rumbling drums and rattling guitars it’s a short, sharp blast of energy characterized by singer Emma Chitty’s menacing vocals.

All over in a matter of two minutes, the single packs an enormous amount of intensity into its short duration and its unabashed rowdiness is extremely good fun, if not rather rudimentary. Shuga share a record label with Florence & The Machine and comparisons can be made with her debut ‘Kiss With A Fist’ which is a similarly straightforward rock and roll single. The b-side ‘Sugar’ opens rather more sedately with Chitty’s vocals sounding plaintive rather than angry and the track develops into another rollicking rock n roll track.

Shuga’s debut single is certainly not inventive in any way but sometimes the best music has no other function than to simply make you want to get up and dance and shout along and ‘Hey Baby’ does that very well.