Sweater Weather: ambitious folk-pop
Sweater Weather: "Every Eye Will See"
"The Pains of Relocation"
(from 2005 demo)
This is the music that was the specific motivation for me to crank up the blog again. The excitement of coming across something as new and lovely as this is what I really enjoy about writing the Oak Room.
The very name of the band sets the tone well for Sweater Weather's music: there's something very comfortable and warm about their acoustic folk-pop. It's pastoral and gentle, but moves beyond being merely pleasant through expansive arrangments and song forms. The presence of cello, djembe, and melodica in the lineup is another unusual dimension of their music. There is something akin to Sufjan Stevens in that aspect of Sweater Weather -- folkish forms deployed in the service of something more ambitious.
"Every Eye Will See" is a real standout -- a beautiful song that takes a thrilling left turn into an unsusal coda about four and a half minutes in. "The Pains of Relocation" is a bit more straightforward, but builds its melancholy tone from a quiet beginning to a strong climax before retreating back to a meditative conclusion.
This is a young band, and I'm looking forward to hearing more from them. Their next show is March 25 at the Wetlands in Chapel Hill with a long-standing Oak Room favorite, North Elementary.
posted by Mark @ 9:00 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
Hey Mark, the link to What is the Oak Room is broken - could you clue me in? I'm a transplant but have lived here 6 yrs - still don't know about the original Oak Room.
Love the site - a much needed weekend planner.
Hey David, thanks for the kinds words! Stupid Chronicle changing its archive links...I've fixed the sidebar, or the story is here.
The Oak Room was at one time a modestly nice restaurant on campus at Duke. Nothing special, but a fond memory for me, though I'm not sure why it came to mind when I was thinking of a blog name, other than wanting some local flavor. It closed in 2003, as that story details. (Actually, now that I think about it, I originally wanted to be Biscuit King, but that was already taken...)
Mark, Thanks for the kind words about Sweater Weather. I'm the webmaster for the band and appreciate the links and honest/candid review of their work. Just wanted to drop a line to say thanks for the awesome resource in this site and to keep up the good work. Take care -
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