Thursday, March 16, 2017

Band Review: The Superweaks


I liked The Superweaks on the first listen, which is always appreciated. As it got closer to writing time, I started having concerns that I had no idea what to say.

Profiles mention their loves of clogging and Satan, coffee and hot sauce (depending on where you are looking). They may not take biographies that seriously. I believe when they say they are from Philadelphia. Still. no words were coming together. Their music did not sound as cheeky as their profiles, and I felt like I was missing something. Then I read about the death of bass player Corey Bernard. 2016 release Better Heavens is a tribute to him.

It's not that it's a huge musical departure from their previous work, but it does feel more serious. There is beauty, but given that context I also sense grief. It gives me a reason for why the ending of the final track, "Junkie's Gone to Heaven" felt so haunting when the ending feedback seems to be fading up and out.

I do like the earlier songs, especially "I Don't Want To Be An Anarchist (Anymore)". There is great guitar on "Finals". Still, I believe Better Heavens is a great starting place.

I checked The Weaks out on the recommendation of James Dewees. "I'll See Myself Out" has some keyboards that remind me of him, but some tracks also remind me of Blink-182, circa "First Date". One article described them as "Weezer meets Thin Lizzy". I am not sure I hear the Thin Lizzy part, but with their traditionally short track length and other antecedents one could probably call them emo-adjacent: punk roots, but more mellow and thoughtful. And I am sorry for some of the things they have had to think about recently, but I still appreciate their results.

It looks like they play fairly regular dates and keep that updated on their Facebook page, but there is not currently anything scheduled.

Worth checking out.




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