Ford Sharpless – Sugar Before Death

Ford Sharpless – Sugar Before Death – Album Review

I might not know much, but sugar after death seems like it would be way tougher to accomplish.

So!  What do we have here?  Nineteen songs, less than an hour of your time – and from the sounds of things when you push play on “Sequence Of Events,” you’ve got every reason as to why you’d wanna tune in for this album.  If you’ve been following our pages throughout the years and you’ve been into names like See Level or Lo-Fi Chill, you’re DEFINITELY going to want to check out what Ford Sharpless has got going on, and you KNOW that I do too.  For real…I hear a track like “Sequence Of Events” and I know I’m on the most solid ground I can be standing on…it’s completely obvious that this man right here has the proverbial ear for sound y’all.  As far as enticing beginnings to a record go, “Sequence Of Events” is an A-side delight…I hear a song like this and there’s absolutely no way I’m missing out on the rest.

As I’ve mentioned many times on these pages of ours, if all I’ve got to complain about is song length, you’re in great shape.  Would I want MORE of a track like “Turquoise Jacket?”  Hell YES I would!  But truth be told, I don’t get as bent outta shape when it comes to instrumentals, for the most part.  I like the selection of chilled-out sounds at work with the intensity of the digital percussion – “Turquoise Jacket” took me right back to the days of listening to Boards Of Canada for the very first time.  That’s a memory I just wanna live inside of permanently…so yes, it’s safe to assume that if Ford Sharpless can remind me of BOC as I’m listening, that yes, I’m 100% into it.  Of course at 1:46 in length, regardless of the chill-factor, “Turquoise Jacket” is pretty much over in the blink of an eye…but since I’ve been listening to this record for the past week or so, I’ve managed to spend quite a bit of time with it.  You’ll want to do the same – the flexible, jazzy vibes at work on “Turquoise Jacket” are genuinely fantastic.

Yeah.  You’ll get to track three and likely come to the same conclusion that I did when listening to “Destiny” – ‘there’s not going to be a bad track on this album, is there?’  The sense of calm you get in listening to a record like Sugar Before Death doesn’t only stem from the remarkably chilled-out beats and vibes – it also comes from the seamless fluidity of a producer that’s clearly in full control of every move he makes.  I listen to a cut like “Destiny” and I can fully drift right off into my own thoughts, relax, and just enjoy the ride, knowing that our man Ford is a master of the craft.  You’ll know that right from the drop of pushing play on this album mind you, but by this third track you’ll find all the confirmation you needed to know your instincts were right.  A track like “Destiny” reveals thoughtful composition and serious professional restraint at the same time…there’s no wasted space, and nothing extraneous in the mix.  Everything serves a function, everything is found in the right proportion…Ford’s perfected the art.

So there you have it…goodnight folks…we can just call the game from here…

…but JUST in case you want more confirmation or you really wanna hear it from me, heck yeah, I’m down to keep talkin’ up this record, because believe me when I tell ya, it’s gonna be one of the most well-balanced and easy to enjoy that you’ll hear in 2025.  Some tracks like “White Foam” get the luxury of a bit more space for Ford to do his thang, and lemme tell ya, that’s always a good decision for him to make.  Short tracks are fine…I’ve got no issues when they’re as tight as these are…but the longer ones like “White Foam” simply give you more to love, so let’s all encourage him in that direction, shall we?  That beat kicks in on “White Foam” and it produces that well-known head nod we all get when we hear an irresistible jam.  It happens right when you’d think it would…that’s not a knock against Sharpless or saying that he’s predictable – that’s me saying he’s got everything dialed in with surgical precision.

Will vocal samples make this music even greater to listen to?  You be the judge!  “Bending” uses a few of’em…and I’m definitely not opposed to the inclusion.  As to whether or not they’re needed or make things better…I don’t know if I really have an opinion on that to be truthful.  I like the fact that Ford has switched it up with yet another dimension…I suppose I’d tell ya that vocal samples are another tool he’s got in his bag, and I think he’s already proven that we can trust his instincts to elevate the vibe of the music he’s working with.  So if Sharpless feels like it’s time to bust out a sample or two, I’m fully inclined to go along with his assessment – this is a man that knows what he’s doing.  Is it the music that makes the biggest impact on us as we listen to “Bending?”  Probably – but that doesn’t mean what we hear from the samples isn’t enjoyable or doesn’t make a positive contribution.  It totally does – I’m into it.  Not everything needs to take the starring role.  Ford knows how to use space to make every element stand out for its own reasons along the way as you listen.  Speaking of – how about that trumpet y’all!?!

The basic gist is true of all albums you really love.  The complete ones.  The ones that have no real dead space or tracks you’d wanna skip – that’s what Sugar Before Death is.  Sure you might feel like this track or that track doesn’t hit ya the same as one of the others, but trust me when I tell ya, it’ll still be damn good.  Take “Designs” for example…for me, it’s a good track, I enjoy it, but sure, I’ve at this point in the record I’ve already experienced others that resonated a bit stronger with me.  Now, if you were to tell me that “Designs” was your favorite cut of the bunch in this set of nineteen, I’d fully support ya!  Any of these tracks could justifiably be your favorite, because the quality and consistency is there, every time.  I like or love just about everything that “Designs” has to offer, so don’t get it twisted – all I’m saying is that we all have our own favorites, and different things appeal to us differently as individual listeners.  If you think I’m turning this cut off or turning it down, then go back & read everything I said all over again.

Maybe I just like a bit more of a standout element goin’ on is all.  “Designs” is so even-keeled straight across the board that it’s almost laid back to the point of its own detriment.  Then you switch things up and get to “Passed The Waves” and you’re like, yeahhhhh – this is what I was looking for.  It’s vibrant, it’s fresh, it stands out for all the right reasons, and it’s a serious dose of digitalized FUN.  I’m all for chillin’ out at pretty much all times…but I’m by no means immune from an upbeat vibe like you’ll find on “Passed The Waves” – honestly, this track is too freakin’ cool!  At 1:45, it’s another one that’s on the shorter side of the spectrum, but it’s another cut that absolutely highlights Ford’s innate gift for being able to pack in maximum entertainment in a short space that makes an impact in every ticking second.

Ford is “Servin’” ya alright.  Tasty treat after tasty treat, your ears are gonna be fiendin’ for another helping of Sugar Before Death, and that’s facts.  “Aww that’s real good,” you’ll hear in the vocal sample threaded into this jazzy vibe, and how could any of us do anything else but agree?  “Servin’” does so many things right in my opinion, with one of its most major advantages being the use of texture and sensory sound.  Seems like we’ve got a bit of a vinyl effect in there…some ambient nature sounds too I think…it’s all highly effective and pulls us in close to listen to the finest details that Ford is laying down.  I love the subtlety at work here…none of this dude’s music punches you in the face to get your attention.  Instead, he earns it by sticking tightly to the script of combining sounds that are truly compelling to us all.  Ford’s got a strong grip on the sound he wants to create, and executes it all with a delicate touch.

I guess the main question people will debate is whether or not the record is too similar to a degree, or if its set-list is merely a reflection of the cohesion you’ll hear.  Honestly, I suppose I’d understand if people felt either way.  For myself personally, given that this is a style of sound I tend to really enjoy, I could spin this record all week – I know this to be true, because I have, multiple times already.  And for what it’s worth, I can easily hear the difference between something like “Servin’” & something like “Sunnies.”  Will it be as easy for the rest out there to separate one track from the other?  Harder to say.  Will they likely remember the record more-so than any one particular track?  I think that’s highly likely, and I also think there’s nothing really wrong with that either.  To me, Sugar Before Death practically flows together like one giant, forty-nine minute & fifty-six second long track…and there’s value in that.  You get to hear tracks like “Sunnies” where the fluidity of the lineup is on display, sliding right outta where you just came from and on into the next seamlessly, so that your enjoyment isn’t disturbed by the slightest iota.

Mmmm.  There’s that quintessential Boards Of Canada-esque style and sound again on “Division” – I can never get enough of that.  I always wonder how much an artist like Ford Sharpless would have spent time listening to a project like BOC that would have paved the way for him today, or if it’s just that his own instincts & personal taste have led him to create similar sounds, you feel me?  Like, we can’t always expect that everyone’s listened to everything all the time…our ears can naturally gravitate towards similar ideas, sounds, and compositions, completely by happy accident.  I listen to a track like “Division” and I’m grateful for Sharpless bringing back a sound that I totally love that’s really not being made today – that’s the reality here.  I’m sure some folks will get bent outta shape a bit about comparable sounds and such, but as many will remind you, we’re all standing on the shoulders of giants anyhow.  To hear Ford do what he’s doing on “Division” as well as he’s doin’ it?  Man…that’s nothing but pure joy to me.

“Coconut Water.”  Two things I’m always at odds with turn into one song I can enjoy – I’m all for it.  Never had any use for coconut, and it has to be so much hotter than you’d think for me to actually want a glass of water – I’ve had like, I dunno, twenty in my lifetime and I’m in my mid-forties now y’all.  Anyhow.  From my perspective, “Coconut Water” has just about the hardest spot in the lineup to fill after the brilliance of “Division,” and I feel like Ford’s done what he can with it as best he can.  Anything was gonna pale a bit in comparison, in my opinion.  Here’s what I’d like to know though…and this goes back to what I was talking about earlier with song-lengths & personal taste, in addition to conversations I’ve been having lately about A-sides & B-sides & such – “Coconut Water” is among the longer tracks on this record, and I would have thought this deserved to be among the shorter cuts.  What makes Ford want to limit a track like “Division” to less than two minutes in total, and expand a track like “Coconut Water” to over three minutes in length?  There are no rules in how we go about creating things of course, and what an artist will often feel like is their strongest material is often quite different than what the consensus of the listening audience will go on to choose.  None of it’s wrong, it’s just interesting.

Some of these tracks you can really get stuck on, in all the right ways.  “Into The Break,” for example, was a song I felt like I’d never get tired of, and believe me when I tell ya, I actually did my best to try and see if I had some kind of limit on how many times I wanted to hear it.  I looped it, on repeat, and just let it spin…and the next thing I know it was like hours seemed to pass.  I mean, you’ve got the advantage of a style of music that you can both listen to with complete dedication, or you can just rock your daily life with this as the soundtrack while you’re doin’ other shit.  Half the time, I’d be sitting here mesmerized by the rhythm and drifting off into my own thoughts, and the other half I might be clicking websites or whatever – but I can’t say I ever really felt the urge to turn off “Into The Break.”  Obviously, life gets in the way and all good things must come to an end, but I road tested this track as hard as I could and put grooves into the digital file.  In a way, “Into The Break” is one of the more static tracks on the record in the sense that what it starts doing at the beginning is what it’ll go on to continue to do throughout the rest of the song…but yeah…I dunno…call me crazy, that kind of hypnotic vibe can be seriously special to experience.  I locked right onto “Into The Break,” and after all those spins, it’s still one of my favorites.

I’ll put it to you this way…if Ford is making some kind of mistakes, I haven’t been hearing them.  We’re all gonna have tracks that we love better than others, but overall, you’ve really gotta admire the way that Sugar Before Death has been so impressively consistent with music made at such a very high level.  The production has been on-point throughout, and considering I’ve been listening on Spotify, that’s saying something.  If Sharpless can sound this good here, he’s gonna sound that much better everywhere else.  I’d roll up to “Breezy Days” on my tours through the record, and most of the time, I’d almost be a little bummed out that I spent so much time on “Into The Break” right beforehand – because as much as I truly love that track, “Breezy Days” is way closer to where I’m at.  Without a doubt, this is a top three track on the record…the sound selection is amazing, and the sequencing of the melody is true perfection.  Whereas “Into The Break” is probably going to be the kind of track that appeals more directly to me and my own personal taste, “Breezy Days” is straight up universal y’all…this is the kind of song that truly moves you, and every time that you hear it, you simply want to hear it that much more.

What’s real is this – if you’re looking for the best back-to-back-to-back spot on the album, it’s probably the run through “Into The Break,” “Breezy Days,” and “Camino” – at the very least, it is in my opinion.  I’m glad that he took his time with “Breezy Days” to flex what he’s really capable of on the record’s longest track – that was a much more successful deep dive than what we experienced with “Coconut Water” from my perspective.  With “Camino,” I think you get yet another glimpse into how smart Ford can be in composing the shorter cuts…in fact, if you look at this lineup objectively, you’ll see that some of his very best on Sugar Before Death have been quite frequently less than two minutes in length.  DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME.  I do not want all of you out there believing that you can make magic on the inside of two minutes – most can’t.  Ford has proven to be capable, so I’m cool with it.  Would I still want like, I dunno, double the length of these short tracks on Sugar Before Death?  Absolutely!  But I’m greedy that way…and I’m less ashamed to admit that than anyone else you know.  Especially when it comes to songs like “Camino” – sign me up for a whole half hour of this y’all.  From its contemplative vibe to its melancholy melody, to the cleverness of its composition and the beat at the core of it all, Ford is putting on a masterclass of how to make ChillHop music right…and I seriously cannot get enough of it.

I kept thinking to myself that like…I mean…he’s gotta break SOMETIME, right?  No one just sails through from start to finish without meeting some kind of resistance, do they?  Some kind of pinch point on the album where the struggle becomes apparent…especially in records of this magnitude – nineteen tracks is a long time to go without feeling like we can hear some kind of crack in the musical armor, you dig?  And yet here we are.  I can tell you that tracks like “Coconut Water” or perhaps “Playing Telephone” might offer us a little less substance…maybe…but I kept circling back to the fact that, if these songs would symbolize the cuts I was less enthusiastic about by comparison…like…c’mon y’all – Sharpless is in incredible shape if that’s the case.  I’d never turn either of those tracks off, even if I felt like I was still in a hurry to get back to something like “Breezy Days” again.  Ultimately, it’s been like I’ve been telling you all along – Ford’s efforts & commitment to this lineup of songs has never wavered, and it’s because of that that he’s put each & every one of these songs in a position to be loved by whomever is listening.

Truthfully, listening to this whole album is like walking along the path of least resistance.  It’s all so easy to like or love, and that’s the facts.  Not hyperbole, just facts.  I still think there’s an element of truth to the possibility that it’s actually so consistent that this lineup could somehow work against him for a few folks out there…as in, I know Ford COULD add more tangible diversity into this lineup if he felt so inclined…but do NOT mistake that for any kind of complaint.  I respect the direction that Sharpless has taken with this record…again, to me, it’s like it’s one big song.  We could get into the nitty gritty details about choices he’s made like at the start of “Brothers” for example…to me, the sound of like, a plug being connected or a dirty connector can make the experience more interesting and engaging, at least at times.  Used sparingly, it’s effective…how about that?  If Ford was doing that on every track, we’d obviously all hate it…but when you hear something like this pop up for a second at the start of “Brothers” and he has pretty much only shown us crystal-freakin’-clarity to that point, you know what you hear isn’t accidental or something he’s overlooked.  Clearly he feels it’s just as interesting to listen to as I do, and he chose to leave that in – I dig it.  The average everyday listener ain’t gonna understand that and he needs to be aware of that…but if he knows the risks in throwing a few people off, then have at it I say.  Does it threaten the inherent smoothness of “Brothers?”  Not really.  I can see that a bunch of listeners would likely think the slight static sounds would be something he’s overlooked, but I’m just as confident that everyone really paying attention to this album would know that it’s actually the opposite.  To be real with ya, “Brothers” didn’t have too much else going on…so I liked the added details we hear.

Do you have to listen to “Open Windows (Easy),” a single that Ford released last year in order to fully grasp the sequel that appears on Sugar Before Death?  Obviously no…obviously I’m just kidding around in asking that question – but YES do it ANYWAY, because MORE Ford Sharpless in your life is only going to make it BETTER.  I’m not necessarily here to compare “Open Windows (Easy)” with “Open Windows Pt. 2” – but if I had to pick a favorite outta the two, I would definitely be leaning towards the sequel.  Especially in the context of this particular lineup…and this is another way you can tell that Sharpless puts a lot of thought into what he does – “Open Windows (Easy)” wouldn’t have fit this particular lineup of songs…it would have felt out of place.  “Open Windows Pt. 2” however, fits like a freakin’ glove.  There’s not a thing about this track that I’d dare to change…it’s 100% perfect as it is, and there’s a very good chance that I’d go as far as to say that “Open Windows Pt. 2” is another cut that deserves to be in the top three of my favorites from this album.  We’re all spoiled for choice when listening to Ford’s album – so many tracks could qualify…but yeah…for me, this undeniably smooth groove is completely irresistible.

It’s been quite the adventure, hasn’t it?  “Undertow” is another track that jams with a highly accessible vibe that I’m confident will get the people out there listening.  In fact, while I might have other cuts on this record that I am probably a bit more attached to, if we’re talking about great songs that could rep this album as a single/gateway in for others to listen, then “Undertow” would be up there with the best candidates and choices you could make in that regard.  From its tangible melody, to the insatiably jazzy beat…I mean…it’s kind of got it all in terms of what people love to hear – the hooks you’ll find at the core of this track exist in abundance, and they’re guaranteed to get you feelin’ it.  Complete with some of those classic old-school record scratches DJ-style, “Undertow” is a fantastic example of how Ford is able to blend substance & style with the talent & technique he possesses.  It’s really quite something.

Finishing it all off with a cherry on top that comes through the form of “Events Of Sequence,” the official nineteenth track on Sugar Before Death, I gotta say, Ford Sharpless has definitely put the work in and delivered with this record.  He goes fairly low-key with the energy of this last cut, but make no mistake this track can rumble too when it reaches the most intense parts of its beat.  With glowing cinematic sound found floating throughout the background, and another superb use of trumpet sounds – if not the very best one you’ll find on the record as “Events Of Sequence” provides its finale…I mean, you couldn’t possible hear Sugar Before Death any other way than to feel immensely satisfied from start to finish.  With such a LARGE track listing…honestly it’s impressive.  Those of you regular readers out there know how I feel about albums that have more than twelve tracks – there’s ALWAYS something that could be cut in those circumstances and there are about a handful of records at best throughout music’s history that nailed the lineup of more than twelve songs perfectly.  So look…I’m not claiming that isn’t STILL the case – it IS – but…I think those of you out there familiar with my work and how I feel about music, know that I haven’t really complained at all about this expanded lineup.  Maybe a cut or two to be trimmed here and there, but we’d still be looking at a record with like fifteen or sixteen tracks and have no choice but to call it perfect, you feel me?  As it stands, Sugar Before Death has been spectacular to listen to, and I’m already looking forward to the next time that Ford Sharpless drops something new.  He’s got the right talent, the right instincts & the right approach…dude knows how to make a record that really hits.

Find out more about Ford Sharpless from this multi-link here:  https://allmylinks.com/fordsharpless

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