What do you get when you take a former teen pop sensation who opened for Britney Spears on 50 dates before her 17th birthday and add it to dancehall infused, high energy hard rock with a strong independent spirit? The answer is Canadian four-piece Sumo Cyco, fronted by Sever (former solo artist Skye Sweetnam), who has buried her past under a mountain of energy and rock ‘n roll spirit. Opus Mar is the crowdfunded follow up to the band’s debut Lost In Cyco City and follows largely along the same lines. So far, so similar. But after reaching 249% of their PledgeMusic goal, it’s self-evident that the band have a clear and strong connection with their fans and it’s not tricky to see why. The introduction of Skindred’s tour-de-force frontman Benji Webb as a guest vocalist on Move Mountains moves the goalposts for the band while penultimate song Rally sounds like it could have been lifted straight from Billy Talent’s early work. Other than that, though, this is a band that lead with their heart on their sleeve and offer no major surprises. Anti-Anthem shoots the album out of the block and is packed full of heavy riffs and a big chorus. The similar could be said of Free Yourself, Sumo Cyco’s celebration self-reliance. While there are no grounds to doubt the band’s commitment, energy and ability to make infectious rock songs, it remains to be seen whether there is enough variety to keep the listener engaged throughout a career. The fact that a criticism like that sits uneasily is indication enough that a band this savvy and with such sprit will probably be able to stay true to their roots while doing something different enough to maintain and grow their fan base.
