From an outsider looking in, The Sweeps appear to be a band on the rise.\u00a0 Guitarist Bob Dain, bassist Santiago Torres, and drummer Aaron Medina have earned a burgeoning following in Chicagoland, as well as a reputation for chaotically energetic live performances.\u00a0 But what of their recorded material?<\/p>\n
The pop-punk trio\u2019s second release, The Terrible Children<\/i>, follows their positively received debut EP, Midnight At The Box<\/i>, which fueled their ascension into the Midwestern rock scene.\u00a0 Recorded in only two days, The Sweeps opted to replicate the raw energy of their live performances with a minimally produced live recording.\u00a0 A good decision, for sure:\u00a0 much like the early Black Keys albums, this strategy amplifies the loose, invigorating style in which they seem to thrive.<\/p>\n
Opening twin tracks \u201cCorsettes\u201d and \u201cClowns\u201d show off this energy front-and-center:\u00a0 throbbing intro bass, a couple of seismic dynamic shifts, and a startlingly simplistic melody.\u00a0 \u201cHotels\u201d carries the commotion to an even higher degree, as evidenced by Dain\u2019s piercing wail.\u00a0 Once the vocals cease near its halfway point, you\u2019re treated with eerily manufactured phrases from looping effects, bookended by a couple of furious jam sessions.\u00a0 Here and elsewhere, The Sweeps excel with the use of effects and instrumental sections that dot the album.<\/p>\n
Unlike the preceding EP, Dain ventures into acoustic territory in The Terrible Children<\/i>, adding a needed second dimension into the mix.\u00a0 \u201cBleed For Love,\u201d a standout, single-verse, solo acoustic interlude, is the first such occurrence, sharply contrasting with their body of work to date.\u00a0 Falsetto-laced \u201cEverything Green\u201d and \u201cGuns\u201d attempt to pace the album as well, to moderate success.<\/p>\n
Perhaps The Sweeps show their greatest maturity and cohesiveness in closer \u201cThe Sound Of Cannons.\u201d\u00a0 The track begins rather unassumingly, with meekly picked acoustic guitar and softly howling backing vocals that belie comparatively fiery lyrics:\u00a0 \u201cAll I hear are concussion grenades in my ears.\u201d\u00a0 U2-like guitar riffs accompany an up-and-down, unhurried crescendo to the track\u2019s climax.\u00a0 While the remainder of the album has no shortage of catchy hooks, it\u2019s this finale that exhibits the most depth and ultimately intrigues me the most.<\/p>\n
At just nine tracks, The Terrible Children<\/i> flies by, clocking in at under a half hour.\u00a0 Of course, an album\u2019s merit should be determined by quality and not quantity, but while there\u2019s plenty to like, you can\u2019t help but feel that some tracks end prematurely before fully realizing their potential.\u00a0 Despite the peaks and valleys, The Terrible Children<\/i> solidly carries out the pop-punk formula.\u00a0 No doubt, it will be interesting to follow if and how The Sweeps\u2019 sphere of influence expands from a local phenomenon into a widespread epidemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":30611,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[8688],"rating":[5612],"class_list":["post-42280","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-sweeps","rating-rating-b-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/42280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=42280"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=42280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}