While Sugar starts with a roaring bounce riff, its verse guitar lead was made for skipping, skanking, and bopping around with reckless abandon. Shavo’s bassline sounds like something out of a swing tune, while Serj’s vocal rhythms as he sings, 'I’m not there all the time, y’know' channel a little bit of vintage, finger-wagging rockabilly. Meanwhile, every verse builds bit by bit into the massive release of the chorus kicking back in, with Daron’s playful guitar turning into a high-tension whine that erupts into a fresh barrage of distortion.
Of course, it’s the song’s bridge where things get truly weird. Serj’s gibbering singalong rant, weaving between clownish squeals – 'No lights! No music!' – and maniacal rage – 'Just anger! I’ve killed everyone' – was revolutionary at the time for its madcap weirdness and abandonment of traditional song structure. The kick at the end of his rant and the singalong call of, 'How do I feel? What do I say? FUCK YOU, it all goes away!' brings fans back into the pounding bounce of the track – but even that breakdown speeds up and becomes a nursery rhyme(ish) whirl that ends in an agitated spasm.
As important to Sugar’s danceability as its structure is its attitude. Serj Tankian doesn’t sound like he’s pissed at his dad or his teachers, but instead like a kid grinning at you through a mouthful of cereal. The guitar lead in the verse is deeply goofy, coming off as someone trying to poorly play Polly Wolly Doodle before losing their shit and smashing their ax. Even during its most furious moments, there’s an element of Joker-esque fun to the track that makes trying to look tough and cool feel like the least tough and cool things in the world (not to say the song isn't serious – its video is a stark condemnation of society – only that its tenor feels more ridiculously human than those of SOAD's peers).