Sugar, the iconic alternative rock trio led by Bob Mould alongside bassist David Barbe and drummer Malcolm Travis, has returned with their first new music together in over three decades, “House of Dead Memories.” Recorded at Tiny Telephone Oakland in June 2025, the song arrives via Granary Music and BMG as the band prepares to celebrate with their first live performances together since January 1995. Shows are set for New York City’s Webster Hall on Saturday, May 2nd and Sunday, May 3rd, and London’s O2 Forum Kentish Town on Saturday, May 23rd and Sunday, May 24th. Next month, Sugar’s essential 1992 debut album ‘Copper Blue’ will be commemorated with ‘Copper Blue – The Singles Collection,’ a limited edition 4 LP box set releasing via BMG on November 28th as part of Record Store Day Black Friday. The collection gathers anthemic favorites like “Changes,” “A Good Idea” and “If I Can’t Change Your Mind,” all originally released on 12-inch vinyl in the UK via Creation Records backed with beloved B-sides like “Needle Hits E” and “Clownmaster,” plus live recordings from Sugar’s 1992 performance at Chicago’s Cabaret Metro, with “Helpless” presented on 12-inch vinyl for the first time.
Having already placed his indelible mark on rock’s future direction with Hüsker Dü, Mould teamed with Barbe and Travis to found Sugar in late 1991, making their live debut at Athens, GA’s famed 40 Watt Club. ‘Copper Blue’ immediately proved a sensation, earning worldwide acclaim for the melodic strength and intensely cathartic popcraft of songs like “A Good Idea,” “Helpless” and the alternative rock radio hit “If I Can’t Change Your Mind.” Sugar unleashed ‘Beaster’ in 1993, debuting at No. 3 on the UK’s Official Albums Chart and No. 4 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart with a more visceral energy and dark melancholy than its predecessor. 1994’s ‘File Under: Easy Listening’ landed in the top 10 on the UK Official Albums Chart and upper reaches of the overall Billboard 200, pushing boundaries on songs like the country-flavored “Believe What You’re Saying” and incendiary “Gee Angel” without sacrificing their signature intensity. Despite their successes, Sugar called it a day following a Japanese tour in early 1995, with the original members reconvening three decades later to record “House Of Dead Memories.”