Sweet John Bloom

Weird Prayer (2015)

RENALDO69

By the time the amp buzz quits at the end of Weird Prayer, you'll be pretty much convinced that Sweet John Bloom are the real deal. If you're a fan of Superchunk and Japandroids, then these short, wild, frantic bursts of energy that form their debut full-length are just for you. They way they blend indie rock, basement power-pop and punk in just over 30 minutes suspends your beliefs and, ultimately, ends up proving to be a near-perfect gateway to a world of summer anthems. It takes a real sense of balance and taste to be both the thinking person’s indie-pop act and a group that grasps the easy-going pleasures of, perhaps, Tokyo Police Club or Shinobu, but more than any band in their not-so-broad milieu, you get the sense that you can trust Sweet John Bloom with enormous melodies and gigantic hooks. What it actually ends up boiling down to by record's end is that you can trust them with ideas.

Right off the bat, the way they meld genres comes at you and comes at you hard! "Shapeshifter" is delirious to say the least and sets the tone for the swarm of jangling guitars, lingering syllables, trembling drums and crunching basslines that ensue. Immediately, this band feels like one you ought to know. A lot of the record's caked in distortion and feels very liberal which builds the sense of creativity and art in the catchy post-punk bombs they throw at you. The way each track bridges into the next is quite commendable and even with the acoustic/folky "Bury Ruby," you can tell that there's a lot more than meets the eye with Sweet John Bloom. However, you don't get to spend too long beneath the surface because this acoustic is nothing more than a brief respite. They quickly pick back up the tempo with a barrage of foot-tappers and thigh-slippers on songs like "Solicitor" and "Night Thing." The latter turns up the afterburners as the guitars flare with so much conviction. At this point, they really decide to cut loose and it's evident on the heavier self-titled track.

What's also noteworthy is that these 15 tracks gradually step up with respect to their intensity. The latter section's more spastic and very flustered but in a good way. Take "Death; And Everything's Paid For" as an example. It's frenetic, blurry and a hazy jam that leaves you spellbound. It's another ear-worming track that emphasizes that Sweet John Bloom aren't pretenders. As the record closes off, there are a lot more riff-savvy moments as the Massachusetts four-piece run the gamut across a variety of genres. When you're caught in the soul-baring moments and wondering that we got the world we deserve, Weird Prayer is one of those records that teleports you to a cliff where you can let it all out - all the rage and all the frustration you feel.

While the record does feel like it went overboard by a couple of tracks, it's still easy to ignore. Why? Well, because it feels like a fitting valediction for a bunch of songs that are humble, populist and aspirational in the tradition of emotive, indie rock. Weird Prayer feels like a cry of freedom, like making every second count, without being too negative or cynical. The album flows and hints to you to let life to happen on its own terms and find meaning as it comes. I may be overthinking it but you can feel their hallmarks pulsing through their album, swirling upward and finally settling like a tornado. Each track has just the right amount of space to move around and their songcraft feels like something that's been done before but for some reason, still strikes as original. Don't miss out on this. There's something unique going on with Sweet John Bloom.