As a title, ‘You Say I Romanticize’ gives a misleading impression of what to expect from Sweeping Promises’ third album. No floppy-fringed, lovelorn poetry spouting offering, it is instead an adrenaline-soaked, post-punk missive on which they set out to capture their live sound. To this effect, they brought in touring drummer Spenser Gralla to augment the core duo of bassist/vocalist Lira Mondai and guitarist/producer Caulfied Schnug. What results is a wall of sound, their most consistently abrasive record with Mondai letting out an array of screams, shouts and all-round vocal shredding.
While the music does not conjure romance or the romantics, new or otherwise, the songs’ themes deal with creative obsessions and often depict writerly characters. ‘You Say I Romanticize’ takes its title from the concluding track ‘Write Lightly’ with its ticking time bomb of a bass and on which the narrator is accused of a compromised perspective in desperate need of editing. Throughout, there is an empathy with creative obsessives, often a writer. ‘Last Man’ is inspired by the Mary Shelley’s dystopian 19th Century novel of the same name (save for a definitive article) which was written in the wake of a cholera outbreak. With its slashing guitars and a brief bass break that heightens the tension, it captures an all-enveloping fear. ‘My Anchoress’ portrays 15th Century author Julian of Norwich, whose Revelations of Divine Love was one of the earliest English novels written by a woman and details visions she allegedly received from Christ – the song itself makes good use of dynamics from its choppy rhythm to one of Mondai’s best screams and double tracking of her voice. The search for religious inspiration is also central to Rapture, Or…’ which captures the frantic urgency of someone impatiently waiting for the divinely foretold ending. Mondai’s vocal roars are virtually euphoric, though the “or” in the title implies scepticism.
Earlier the mood has been set immediately with the opening ‘Shooting Shadows’, its riff reminiscent of a scuffed-up take on The Fall’s version of ‘Victoria’. Combined with pounding drums, Mondai’s powerful vocals and lyrics hinting at a crime documentary with “photo of a photo on the floor” and the question “am I the one you’re coming for”, it manages to be exhilarating and rather scary. Movie imagery pervades ‘My Friend’s An Entomologist’ from its first lines where “cinematic arms are pumping up and down… good hair bouncing.” There is an ominous darkness as “you choose your own death in sliding doors.” It is all underpinned by rumbling bass while Schnug’s guitar excursions are hair-raising. Celluloid imagery is revisited on the choppy ‘Abduction on Camera’ with includes welcome sonic variety with the addition of what may be a synth line.
The bass-led ‘Cocoon’ is one of their older songs, written to extend their set when the first album had been released but which subsequently has undergone numerous metamorphoses. Its current incarnation is claustrophobic to fit its depiction of fractured desires (“we’re in the same city, in the same room but we / might as well be in two separate universes / I make moves and you make a purchase.”) Propelled by an insectoid rhythm, ‘Accent’ tells of a lowly drone wishing to break out of a restrictive existence.
Across its ten, sub-four-minute songs, ‘You Say I Romanticize’ is unquestionably Sweeping Promises most unified album to date with a concentration on the guitar, bass, drums and vocals format. However, the absence of the sax and synths leads it to miss the sparkle and refreshing variety of its predecessor ‘Good Living Is Coming For You’.
Sweeping Promises: You Say I Romanticize – Out 14 August 2026 (Sub Pop)
Promises – Cocoon (Official Music Video)
I was editor of the long-running fanzine, Plane Truth, and have subsequently written for a number of publications. While the zine was known for championing the most angular independent sounds, performing in recent years with a community samba percussion band helped to broaden my tastes so that in 2021 I am far more likely to be celebrating an eclectic mix of sounds and enthusing about Made Kuti, Anthony Joseph, Little Simz and the Soul Jazz Cuban compilations as well as Pom Poko and Richard Dawson.
