The duo of Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug is like The White Stirpes but for genuine indie heads. When these two team up as Sweeping Promises, the results are sure to be infectious. The tunes on the pair's new Sub Pop record, You Say I Romanticize are hooky and fiery. Dig it!
Opener "Shooting Shadows" wins on top of Lira's punky wail, while the bass-heavy "My Friend's an Entomologist" is more complex. There's a faint hint of Joy Division in the down-tempo riffage here, but Lira's vocals keep this rooted to American, not Brit, traditions of post-punk. Elsewhere, the churning "Rapture, Or..." adds in a splash of Siouxsie to a tune which soars in a nearly pop way. While "Cocoon" has a whiff of Wire about it, "Abduction on Camera" is even better, the duo finding a way to harness their styles into one sleek and supple (and dark) track.
Lira and Caufield inject the tracks on You Say I Romanticize with enough pep that there's not a dull moment on this record. Short and sweet, this album never wears out its welcome. What's likely to give this one some traction with a wide swath of indie listeners is the fact that there are multiple angles of approach. Sweeping Promises seem to have ingested a healthy diet of both American punk and UK alternative. What they've put down here is thus super accessible and full of delicious energy.
You Say I Romanticize by Sweeping Promises is out on Sub Pop this Friday.
[Photo: Shawn Brackbill]