Review: Sweetbreads' Debut Album 'Punisher of Love'
Heartwrenching to hopeful.
Written by Mia Gomez-Reyes
Sweetbreads is a musical project born from the mind of the musician Melody Stolpp. Though Brooklyn-based, you might be surprised to find her sound is folksy, country, and a little bit pop. Punisher of Love, her debut LP, contains all the beauty of these genres with twangy guitar, swelling strings, harmonies that tug at your heart, and lyricism that paints a perfect picture of the narrator’s story. With only one song on this eight-track LP under three minutes, Sweetbreads is bringing back the power of longer songs while still feeling tight and committed to her own rhythm.
Right from the beginning, album opener “Open Mic” pulls you into a melancholic feeling with smooth guitar and storytelling. Lines like “Swallowing stars / nipping at God’s heels” and “Why is dying easier than being born” ensure you can almost touch the yearning with your fingertips. The narrator feels trapped in this cycle of desperation, a wanting for something different, and the very structure of the song supports this theme. With its final few moments, the song circles back to the opening verse. Just like the narrator, the listener endures the never-ending loop of wanting things to be different.
The title track “Punisher of Love” is a complete tonal switch. A sense of urgency is carried through by its melody, accompanied by the instrumental, and gives almost no breathing room until a surprise guitar solo bursts in. The song contains the album’s thesis, trying to find both yourself and the light at the end of the tunnel while being lost amongst your own angst. “Ticking time bomb / here I come” sings the narrator, determined to get through the heartache.
“Satisfy”, one of the two single tracks, is an album highlight with that classic country sound that immediately transported me to my local dance hall. I found myself floating along with the vocal harmonies, swaying almost involuntarily with an invisible partner. “I want to satisfy / the need to be what they have in mind,” a feeling most of us can relate to, hits hard despite the tenderness with which it’s sung.
“Ben” was the second single released and another high point on the album. It unfolds with a magical unpredictability that matches the come and go of feelings for another person. Even the chorus can’t seem to decide how it feels, at first stating that “Time will heal everything,” then quickly devolving into “Time will kill.” This indecision pulls the listener back and forth just as much as the narrator. The details in the instrumental, with its secret twangs, delicious background vocals, and handclaps reminiscent of the stomp and holler era of folk, carry the story like an early fall walk.
After sitting with the yearning and quiet sadness that flows through most of the album, you get one more full 180 coming in the form of the album closer, “The Anvil.” The song is strong in all its choices, showcasing Stolpp's incredible vocal strength, an instrumental that crashes into the listener, and finally a soft, delicate comedown. Sitting in the aftermath, you feel what the album has been building to the whole time: hope. Hope for whatever is next, growing from the wreckage of everything that came before.
Sweetbreads’ debut LP, most impressively to me, tells a complete story, both lyrically and sonically, without sacrificing anything. It holds onto its descriptive lyricism without ever feeling flowery or saccharine. It never settles into an ‘expected’ formula or sound, and twists and turns right when you think it might be taking the easy way. Above all, it trusts the listener to follow the journey. Punisher of Love is an album that only gets stronger as it goes on, just as hope does.
For me, this album is a new favorite. It's original and fresh, while wearing its genre inspirations on its sleeve. It takes tradition and makes it new.
Punisher of Love is out now.
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