Sydney trio Sweetie’s latest album Dogtooth delivers a sound that’s effortlessly edgy.
Opener Night Bitch draws you in with its hypnotic drums and smooth guitars, and sets the scene for the album’s sharp storytelling and underlying political edge. The album reaches a fervid energy around popular single and title track Dogtooth and subsequent songs Payrise and Ramona, before gently fading back into a more mellow sound until the album ends with a chorale inspired Reprise.
There’s a solid 90s grunge feel to a lot of the record and it definitely sits in that ridge between the comfortable melancholy of Nirvana and the frustrated angst of Veruca Salt. Yet one of the most striking elements are the repetitive riffs and vocal motifs that feel more akin to electronic music. They’re used to great effect, whether hammering home the theme of the song, providing a melodic point of difference, or offering a reprieve from the lyric heavy verses.
A special mention has to go to the haunting Hanging Rock, which I think alongside title track, Dogtooth, are my favourites from the record. Interestingly, they’re polar opposites in terms of sounds. Hanging rock is an ethereal, gaze-influenced homage to Picnic at Hanging Rock that captures the eerie spirit of the story perfectly, whereas Dogtooth is a high-energy upbeat love song. I think I quite enjoy how they book end the spectrum of influences seen across the record.
The overall sound is definitely a step away from their singles but the stories retain the balance of social relevance interlaced with a personal narrative. Dogtooth is an album with a punk spirit at its heart wrapped in a more broad reaching musical texture.
You can listen to Dogtooth here.