Swami (2025)
Back in 2022, Plosivs released their debut album and it is still the best record I've heard since then. To say that I have been eagerly anticipating this release is perhaps the understatement of the year, especially because it's been looming on the horizon since 2022. The bulk of these recordings were started very soon after the first album was recorded, but for a litany of tawdry reasons that you can read about on far more reputable websites than this one, it is just now being released.
And unsurprisingly, it is great. Now, I didn't find it as immediate as the first Plosivs record. That one was a whirlwind of in-your-face hooks and I was completely floored the very first time I listened to it. Yell At Cloud has definitely been more of a grower for me. I'm not one to throw around music writer terms all willy nilly, but if there's one that comes to mind when I listen to this record, it's tension. There's a lot of pent up tension in this record and it builds in each of the songs, sometimes getting a satisfying, catchy release in the chorus, but other times not so much.
It's a record that rewards multiple listens and each time it plays, I find myself picking up on something new. A hidden melody here, and overlooked riff there. It's darker than the first, without sacrificing any of the inherent optimism in Rob Crow's vocals. In general the songs are longer this time out (the shortest clocking in at just under three and a half minutes) instead of the many under three minute pop smashes of the last one.
I'm definitely doing that annoying thing where I'm focusing too much on comparing this album to the last one, and while it's different, it is every bit as wonderful. Few people wield a guitar as iconically as John Reis does. While his myriad of bands all have different sounds, there's always that thread that ties each of them together. You're unlikely to mistake his guitar playing for someone else's as it has an instantly identifiable style, not matter what sort of song he's playing on. When you add Rob Crow to the mix, it's a guitar combination that's unique, but familiar. And those vocals. Sheesh, you'd be hard pressed to find someone better suited to turn songs like this into something so inherently hummable in the back recesses of your head.
Plain and simple, I love this record. I think it's every bit as good as the last, while being different enough from it to not just be the same thing again (which for the record, I also would have been totally fine with). As usual with Swami affiliated releases, I picked up both versions. The main retail version is on splatter vinyl and there were 2000 of those pressed. As usual for Swami releases, the black vinyl is the scarcer of the two versions and there were 500 of those, available from the Swami web store.
Plosivs - Yell At Cloud:
https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kcnCrNO6-HYWs5OOva6iJ863pwmRbMwdU
No comments:
Post a Comment