Sweeping Promises – Good living Is Coming For You

Is this New Wave, is it Post Punk, I’d air towards neither as both those genre’s have lost their shine/meaning and should no longer actually exist in our minds when it comes to new music.  So let’s just say that Sweeping Minds have a place in some slot, but should not be adversely restricted by this either, nor should any bands of that have something great to give to the musical ether that lights up our lives with explosive qualities.

After that’s been said, what does this second album by an eclectic sounding duo bring to the our ears.  Being totally honest here, I never heard the previous album and actually don’t want to cloud my judgement of this album by delving into it either, from the initial stripped back beats of ‘Eraser’ which heads this album, it made perfect sense to not mull over past sounds by this band, as they seem to have a sound that is all of their own, lives in the now, and going backwards is something that just felt like it wouldn’t fit well.

If your a fan of music that never really hangs its hat on traditional beats and guitar strokes, a sound that chops and changes based purely on how the mood takes the song, then you’ll be perfectly at home with this album in your collection. 

Songs that have a place in the “you’ll not forget these” brakes have to be ‘Walk In Place’ with need to have you up dancing, its wonderful bass playing that adds funk to the track from the bottom up, and the vocal has you slipping off into mind warp of kinds.  Then immediately after this you’re hit with the Joy Division esque beat of ‘You Shatter’, but wow is this so much more than a song of woe, it twists and turns like a mad mouse fairground ride, from its soaring vocals to its ethereal guitar your grabbed and thrown along until the abrupt end. ‘Throw Of The Dice’ uses the same principal as most of the album, get song lyrics, add some expertly played bass, throw in a beat that chops and changes, then use the guitar to tie this all together with a spiders web of sound.

This album has so many twists and turns that you do wonder why it never loses its way, but when its knitted together so perfectly with its use of style and musical intricacy, then you understand why it all just works and you end up listening again to catch what you missed the first time around, in fact you could go from start to finish 5 times and still catch something new, the sign of a great album. 

Don’t ever underestimate a duo from Kansas, who put DIY in a whole new light, songs that feel like demo’s, yet have a quality that some bands can only dream of. 

Out now via Sub Pop Records

Find all you need and more at Sweeping Promises.com