Sweeping Promises - Hunger For A Way Out LP (Feel It, 2020)
Third pressing of 500 on black vinyl with dark green center labels.
"Straight from the depths of an unused Boston-area concrete laboratory comes the debut of Sweeping Promises. Written and recorded with a patented "single mic technique" just before quarantine, "Hunger for a Way Out", is a post-punk leaning gem of unpolished DIY sound. The title track kicks things off in absolutely classic fashion, full of spirited hooks that echo the early Rough Trade sound. Angular guitars and sharp synth notes float atop a raw rhythm section, while Lira Mondal's effervescent vocals truly define Sweeping Promises' sound. There's something simple yet otherworldly about these tracks - you have the DIY prowess of Kleenex/LiLiPUT and Girls at Our Best!, a brooding new wave-y minimal synth sound woven in, and an undeniable pop-leaning appeal captured in vibrant monaural glory. It's hard to mistake these ten tracks of naturally urgent and driving post-punk for anything other than sheer brilliance. Sweeping Promises deliver in spades on "Hunger for a Way Out". LP comes shrinkwrapped with double-sided risograph insert." - Feel It Records
"These are ten songs that absolutely sound like they were recorded in a disused concrete laboratory with one microphone. They’re blocky, have these binary arrangements (lots of hitting two static notes in counterpoint to the bass or synth), and they’re very busy, with lots of parts and sequences to pivot into, evenly-parceled sections of guitar and synth across underplayed drums and over-accommodating bass (it really works; not everyone has to be in jazz spirit to do this sort of stark twitching ‘79-’80 bombshelter shadowcast thing), which is what makes this record really stand out. They’re like a workaround to that first Omni record. No song goes to four minutes yet they all seem long, all workouts. Really though the vocal performance by Lira Mondal is the standout here; clipped and controlled with lots of room in the second octave to underline all the roboticism around her, and pulls closer the realms of Chrissie Hynde and Corin Tucker. Everything about this works, and they serve as a strong foil to their labelmates Pleasure Leftists, the only other band for this kind of action these days." - Doug Mosurock (Still Single)