Everyone responds differently to living through these troubling times. When things get dicey, some of us like to be swaddled and soothed, while some of us need to explode and kick holes in the wall. You don’t have to be a genius to figure out which kind of person I am, which is why I’m happy to tell you that on their new album, ‘You Say I Romanticize‘, Sweeping Promises sound absolutely pissed (not in the British usage of the word; if the production and playing on this record are any indication, they were almost certainly dead sober in the studio). Just listen to bassist/vocalist Lisa Mondal’s delivery on the opening track, “Shooting Shadows,” if you don’t believe me. Apologies for the incredibly cliché analogy, but this track has the energy of a junkyard dog, so much so that it should come with a warning: Get too close to the speakers, and it might just break its chains and bite your ass.
The trick the band pulls off here is more difficult than meets the eye (or ear). Living in an era that courts continuous outrage presents both great opportunities and great risks for artists and musicians. Being too on-the-nose when railing against the object of your ire risks robbing your music of its mystery and, dare I say, its poetry (and there is poetry here. This band is smart without being smart, if you know what I mean). In the context of 80s hardcore, we can think of how many “Fuck Reagan” songs listeners were treated to. This sort of thing runs pretty thin after a while, and though “Fuck ICE” and “Fuck the Zionist Entity” are sentiments that need to be reiterated as much as possible in (im)polite conversation, they don’t exactly reward listeners with a novel perspective or add anything to the conversation. Sweeping Promises steer clear of that sort of banal literalism, evoking our current anxieties without stooping to sloganeering.
But, look at me, I’m goofing this whole thing up by forgetting to focus on the actual music. I was lucky enough to see Sweeping Promises at Goner Fest a few years back, and they absolutely destroyed, delivering catchy melodies, maximum riffage, and flawless, powerful execution. The approach is no different here. Even though the band lacks a consistent live lineup, with Mondal and guitarist Caufield Schnug calling in various (excellent) ringers for drums at their live shows, the group is nonetheless cohesive and very much sounds like a BAND and not the dreaded “recording project.”
This is especially good news if you live in the Milwaukee area, as you’ll have the chance to catch Sweeping Promises in the act at Cactus Club later this month (Thursday, October 29th, to be exact). I urge you to show up and get tastefully and thoughtfully pissed, something you can do in both meanings of the word, should that fit your fancy. Click here to get your tickets today before the show sells out.
Links of interest:
https://www.instagram.com/sweeping.promises/
https://sweepingpromises.com/
https://sweepingpromises.bandcamp.com/album/you-say-i-romanticize
https://megamart.subpop.com/products/sweeping-promises_you-say-i-romanticize
