Sweater Club – Five More Minutes

Sweater Club – Five More Minutes / 2006 Self / 10 Tracks / http://www.sweaterclub.com / Reviewed 26 July 2006

It takes Sweater Club a few minutes to get started on their “Pt. I”, but when the bass line starts chugging, individuals should know that they are going to be in for an intense listen. In fact, the style of this opening to “Five More Minutes” feels more like a Don Henley track than anything. The fact that Sweater Club have taken the eighties so seriously means that the band has some credentials behind them. This is not to say that the act is a retro act, but rather a band that is looking to the future. The dual vocals that start off the track will remind listeners of acts like Defiance Ohio, where the tempestuous guitars and horn blend will tie the act to bands like Alice Donut.

“Fallen Down” is a track that is much more in a current vein, with a little it of ties to ska acts present. In fact, this ska sound is mixed with a Jane’s Addiction type of sound the bring the band firmly into the nineties for their influences. The only problem that individuals can identify with a song like “Fallen Down” is that the dramatic tension builds up and largely dissipates before the band can really capture the minds and hearts of their listeners. Sure, there are quicker points during the track but nothing that will just blow listeners away. The ska-like horns take a much more major role during “Hypocrisy and Entropy”, giving the song a Latin flair that mixes well with the Santana-like guitars that begin to dominate the track. It is during “Hypocrisy and Entropy” that Sweater Club shows that they can do the instrumental thing and succeed.

In fact, it may just be the case that Sweater Club without vocals can provide Sweater Club with vocals a run for their money. The instrumental side of Sweater Club is intense, to the degree that the guitar solo that bridges the two halves of the track easily resides alongside some of the most memorable lines of pop and rock historically. It may take Sweater Club a few tracks to get started, but by the time that “Hypocrisy and Entropy” gets spinning, the band easily grabs listeners and keeps them for the rest of the disc. Sweater Club is a band that will be getting somewhere as soon as the right people pick up this album; “Five More Minutes” is a tight album that showcases Sweater Club’s ability to cover a wide array of genres with the greatest of ease.

Top Tracks: Hypocrisy and Entropy, Walk Away

Rating: 7.3/10

[JMcQ]