Sugar & The Hi Lows

iTunes Review

Before moving to Nashville, Trent Dabbs grew up in Jackson, Miss., listening to his dad’s soul records. But it was Jeff Buckley's music that inspired him to start writing his own songs. Shortly after contributing original tunes to Vampire Diaries, One Tree Hill, Grey’s Anatomy, and other TV shows, he began writing songs for classically trained pianist and guitarist Amy Stroup, another singer/songwriter who moved to Music City in her youth. Now they're collaborating as Sugar & The Hi Lows, and their 2012 eponymous debut album blends old-school influences into a timeless sound. Their beautiful close harmonies are the first thing you notice with the countrypolitan-flavored opener “Show & Tell,” which plays with vintage string arrangements and a retro-toned cool. “Two Day High” gets those amplifier tubes burning hot as Dabbs and Stroup play a rockabilly-tinged tune that sounds like The Raveonettes if they'd never heard The Jesus and Mary Chain. “Skip the Line” stomps on southern jailhouse rock rhythms.