By Stan Cierlitsky
Well, it's been more than a minute since one of my favorite bands released their last record. To be exact, The Mary Onettes released their last record, Hit the Waves back in 2012. Yeah, they did release some great singles and EP's over that time, and we did get a solo record from singer Philip Ekström under the moniker H. Moon, but 13 years is a long time between records! Rest assured the wait is over because The Mary Onettes release their amazing fifth album, Sworn on November 14.
Glenn and I were recently reminiscing about how much we miss the joy of listening to albums start to finish. Sadly, we live in a culture today where every song is at the tip of your fingers and scattered in playlists. Well, in honor of the old tradition of listening to records start to finish, thats how I'm going to review Sworn.
The album starts with a weird sample, but immediately kicks into the dream-pop sound The Mary Onettes have always perfected. On this song "WDWHL" I could swear I was listening to a new Slowdive record. The second song, and recent single, "Hurricane Heart" jumps into existence. Starting with a faster drumbeat reminiscent of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill", this is definitely a an indication of a theme I've discovered on this record. Even though this is quintessential dream-pop, I constantly hear little sounds that remind me of Eighties and Nineties New Wave. "Hurricane Heart" and third song "Without this Body" really strongly kick off the album.
Fourth song "Honest Moon" slows everything down a little. I assume it's a reference to the H. Moon solo album but I'm not sure. "Slide" adds to the slower mood, but builds gloriously like most of their songs. Does anyone else hear Nik Kershaw keyboards and classic shimmery Slowdive guitars? Ekström's vocals really shine on this one. I love the line "I wanna be a part of the things I've done." Again, I love the little sounds in this music that really takes me back to the old days.
The next three songs are my favorites from Sworn. "Tears to An Ocean" was the first single preceding the album. And when he belts out "Tears, tears, tears", I get goosebumps. And speaking of Eighties sounds, how about the big Psychedelic Furs sax solo in the middle? This song reminds me of the old stereo equalizer days when you watch the little green lights dance around and wait for it to turn a little red. I love when The Mary Onettes hit the red. And speaking of that, the chorus in the next song, "The Big Shake", lives in the red. It's my favorite song on the record. I think I'm just a sucker for those beautiful slick bass-lines. It's one of the best songs they've recorded. The next song, "Eyes Open" was also a single and features Maja Milner. This one sort of reminded me of 2015 single "Ruins" which featured Maria Usbeck. "Dream with eyes open." Such beautiful lyrics.
The last three songs finish out the album strong. "Arp" reminded me a little of Kraftwerk, but at this point who hasn't sampled Kraftwerk? It also has another singer guesting, but they don't say who it is. The title track "Sworn" is just beautiful. I'm hearing a little shimmery Cocteau Twins-style guitar and a little more of the Kate Bush drums. The last track "Stop the Melody" is another favorite. It's a great song to end an album. The drums take center-stage and it seems a little darker. It also ends with a tiny sample and makes a nice nice bookend to the record's start.
The Mary Onettes have spent 13 years perfecting their dream-pop sound. I honestly can't name another band that does it better. Sworn is not only an album worth listening to, but listening to closely. The production is near perfect.
Sworn by The Mary Onettes is out on Friday via Welfare Sounds and Records.
[Photo: Mette Hultesjö]