An unending pleasure of this blog is finding the music that, in our humble opinions, deserves far more attention than what it seems to be getting at the moment. But, thanks to social media, and just a bit of hustle, bands can get the word out about the great music they make, and such is the case with The Unswept.
The band’s new release, Minor Blemishes, completely underlies its title by offering up a splendid 12 songs of Power Pop with nary an irregularity or flub, not even insignificant ones. What it does offer is strongly Mersey-ish melodies and harmonies, with maybe just a dash of Madchester.
Like so many other Power Pop groups, The Unswept takes an apparent musical cue from the Beatles’ more melodic side. Several songs exhibit this, including “Fake It,” thanks to its Rubber Soul-esque guitar hooks. “Sunshining,” with its harmonies, seems to draw a direct line from mid-’60s Fab Four.
Hailing originally from Sheffield in the UK, The Unswept now call Chicago their home base. If you look at the credits, the name “O’Brien” pops up over and over again, so yes, this is a family joint.
“We are all cousins,” confirmed Ryan, talking to Garagerocktopia by email. “Our fathers were brothers. Charlie and I lived in adjacent apartments on our council estate (gov’t housing for those who don’t know), and Liz lived in the next building over. We’ve always been a close family.”
But this family has not just rehashed an array Lennon/McCartney/Harrison-esque sounds (not that there would be anything wrong with that). The album showcases a diverse potpourri of sounds and styles. Like other great Power Pop bands, The Unswept manages to weave a lot of the music they love into a cohesive set of tones all their own.
Perhaps the best of these are the gorgeous “The Boy Who Wakes You Up,” as well as “You Ain’t on My Mind,” which strongly both recalls the sound of the 1976-1981 Power Pop heyday, and in the case of the latter, The Byrds as well. “He’d Be a Diamond” is also a gem of a Bevis Frond cover (sorry, couldn’t resist) which recalls both first British Invasion and ‘70s Power Pop.
O’Brien didn’t so much stipulate to the influence of one band or another in particular, but more designated an amazing era of Rock’s formative years.
“It might be because we’re influenced by a lot of bands from that era,” O’Brien posits, “especially, I’d say from ’62 to ’66, and not just one band from that era. We’re blending them all together to make it whatever sounds like us.”
Both Sheffield and Chicago have musical legacies which speak for themselves. While O’Brien didn’t 100% dismiss geography as something shaping the band’s music, he pointed more to one legendary group in particular whose concert became a profound game-changer for him.
“Maybe we picked up some of the musical vibes of each city by osmosis,” O’Brien allows, “but I can’t really say the cities in particular really figured into our music. For me, the defining moment of my life that made me want to make music was seeing a Stone Roses show in Manchester. They blew me away.”
From there, what would become The Unswept would gradually form.
“Charlie and I played together in a couple bands in Sheffield,” O’Brien recounted, “including one that released a single that immediately fell into obscurity. When we moved over to the States, Charlie and I shared a very tiny apartment and formed the Unswept originally as a duo -- Charlie played guitar and I played a suitcase drum set -- and did some gigs with that lineup, including our first appearance at International Pop Overthrow.”
“The next year our cousin Liz came over and joined us and improved our sound about a hundred thousand percent. I think Liz’s vocals are our secret weapon.”
There are so many components that make Minor Blemishes such a joy, not the least of which is the songwriting. O’Brien says that too, is something the O’Brien clan assemble together.
“Usually I’ll bring in an idea with fully formed lyrics and an idea on how to arrange the song,” said O’Brien. “Sometimes I’ll have the whole song, other times Charlie and/or Liz will help come up with the music, add the bridge, etc. We all work on them together though the initial ideas usually come from me. I’m the oldest so I claim songwriting seniority privileges!”
Word is starting to radiate out about The Unswept. Happily, other outlets that also feature the kinds of music we love so much here are also spreading the word -- and it seems to be helping.
“We’re getting some play overseas, The Ice Cream Man Power Pop and More radio show in Sweden has been great to us,” reports O’Brien. “We even did an exclusive acoustic session for them. We did get some airplay on AM radio in Chicago which was surprising, I’m still not sure how they found us.”
“We’re selling a lot of albums in Spain, Portugal, and Japan. They’ve been really supportive of our music and we wish we could afford to tour there.”
For now, The Unswept’s shows have mostly been confined to the Chicagoland area.
“We’re keeping it local mostly, it’s just too expensive to extensively travel,” laments O’Brien, “ plus we all have day jobs so that makes it harder for all of us to get out of town at the same time.”
Do take time to check out Minor Blemishes. The band is working on a follow-up EP which they hope to have out by late spring or early summer.
O’Brien didn’t so much stipulate to the influence of one band or another in particular, but more designated an amazing era of Rock’s formative years.
“It might be because we’re influenced by a lot of bands from that era,” O’Brien posits, “especially, I’d say from ’62 to ’66, and not just one band from that era. We’re blending them all together to make it whatever sounds like us.”
Both Sheffield and Chicago have musical legacies which speak for themselves. While O’Brien didn’t 100% dismiss geography as something shaping the band’s music, he pointed more to one legendary group in particular whose concert became a profound game-changer for him.
“Maybe we picked up some of the musical vibes of each city by osmosis,” O’Brien allows, “but I can’t really say the cities in particular really figured into our music. For me, the defining moment of my life that made me want to make music was seeing a Stone Roses show in Manchester. They blew me away.”
From there, what would become The Unswept would gradually form.
“Charlie and I played together in a couple bands in Sheffield,” O’Brien recounted, “including one that released a single that immediately fell into obscurity. When we moved over to the States, Charlie and I shared a very tiny apartment and formed the Unswept originally as a duo -- Charlie played guitar and I played a suitcase drum set -- and did some gigs with that lineup, including our first appearance at International Pop Overthrow.”
“The next year our cousin Liz came over and joined us and improved our sound about a hundred thousand percent. I think Liz’s vocals are our secret weapon.”
There are so many components that make Minor Blemishes such a joy, not the least of which is the songwriting. O’Brien says that too, is something the O’Brien clan assemble together.
“Usually I’ll bring in an idea with fully formed lyrics and an idea on how to arrange the song,” said O’Brien. “Sometimes I’ll have the whole song, other times Charlie and/or Liz will help come up with the music, add the bridge, etc. We all work on them together though the initial ideas usually come from me. I’m the oldest so I claim songwriting seniority privileges!”
Word is starting to radiate out about The Unswept. Happily, other outlets that also feature the kinds of music we love so much here are also spreading the word -- and it seems to be helping.
“We’re getting some play overseas, The Ice Cream Man Power Pop and More radio show in Sweden has been great to us,” reports O’Brien. “We even did an exclusive acoustic session for them. We did get some airplay on AM radio in Chicago which was surprising, I’m still not sure how they found us.”
“We’re selling a lot of albums in Spain, Portugal, and Japan. They’ve been really supportive of our music and we wish we could afford to tour there.”
For now, The Unswept’s shows have mostly been confined to the Chicagoland area.
“We’re keeping it local mostly, it’s just too expensive to extensively travel,” laments O’Brien, “ plus we all have day jobs so that makes it harder for all of us to get out of town at the same time.”
Do take time to check out Minor Blemishes. The band is working on a follow-up EP which they hope to have out by late spring or early summer.
Don't Forget to listen to Garagerocktopia Radio, alternating with Blue Mood, Tuesday nights on KUCR Radio, 88.3 FM Riverside, California. We play artists like The Unswept, plus many others who have appeared on our hallowed pages and whose music has inspired us.
We have some other features already in the works here at Garagerocktopia. Artists have been sending us some very cool stuff. As always, we don’t make any guarantees in stone but we’re happy to say we’ve gotten a lot of very promising music sent to us, and we’re always happy to spread the word about about bands that are playing the way-out kinds of music we profile here. Send us a line and we’ll talk.
Also, we do have a Facebook page for this blog. We don’t put personal stuff on it – no pictures of grandkids (which we don't have anyway) or our dinners or politics or anything like that. What we do post are announcements about upcoming features, maybe extra stuff about the bands, and any cool music, movies or TV Shows we stumble across that might have even the most tangential connection with the music featured here. While we don't spend all day thinking about it, we do like "likes" if you're so inclined ...
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