Review Summary: Adorably carefree
Occasionally, I like to employ Tinder-esque tactics in order to discover new music. In a world with more albums freely available than one could possibly listen to in three lifetimes, it’s nice to get superficial from time to time. Bad band name? Eh, not checking that. Funny bio? Why not, let’s give it a shot! Adorable album title and cover? You caught my eye,
Lounge Music for Cat People! Thankfully, the music on Sweam’s debut album radiates a similarly carefree, bubbly energy as the adorable kitties had me believe. It’s a batch of high quality, gazey indie rock songs; nothing more, and definitely nothing less.
Lounge Music for Cat People tastefully reels listeners in with the magnificent opening tracks. ‘Planes’, especially, is a slice of indie perfection encompassing crunchy guitars, peppy drums and an extremely infectious chorus. While Jonas Berg’s somewhat amateurish vocals laced with an occasionally thick accent might be a turn off for some, his voice conveys the kind of wide-eyed optimism that can only be achieved by simply being highly passionate about your art. This goes for all of the band and is undoubtedly their biggest asset: it is clear Sweam genuinely loves making music. Hell, if the fact that they’re cuddling cats on the album cover didn’t convince you, the songs surely will. Moreover, throughout the album, Jonas’ vocals are often drenched in reverb or complimented by Marie Berg’s beautifully airy voice, rendering this potential nitpick a non-issue.
While rarely losing sight of its indie pop palette, Sweam’s talent truly shines when the band colours slightly outside the lines. ‘Hotel Room’ is a heavy, grungy shoegaze track, while two interludes provide a pleasant ambient touch. Such sonic explorations give
Lounge Music for Cat People a carefree feeling while remaining focused. In that sense, ‘Sunyata’ is both a bit of an outlier as well as a perfect fit. The song is fully instrumental, allowing a hypnotising twinkling to descend into the depths of full-on noise, before the record turns around and ends on the ethereal, acoustic ‘All Things’. It’s a perfect closer, requiring little more than a guitar and the two vocalists harmonising to bring the album to a simple, satisfying conclusion.
Yet, as good as the songwriting on
Lounge Music for Cat People is, the production occasionally slips up. For example, the guitar solo towards the end of ‘Hotel Room’ clumsily fails to achieve a call-and-response effect, thankfully only slightly detracting from the song’s overall quality due to its brevity. Besides this, the album somewhat overstays its welcome, clocking in at nearly 45 minutes. Simultaneously however, there’s a certain charm to all of these flaws. While Sweam are highly skilled songwriters, the band’s sound possesses a kind of youthful innocence, making
Lounge Music for Cat People a rather unique album, even if its contents technically aren’t all that innovative. So, in conclusion, shout out to the adorable cats on the cover of this lovely record for convincing me to check it out.
