I like a good rock 'n roll album. The kind of album that makes me want to go to a bar with a live band and sit in a corner and drink beer until it comes out of my ears. I'm a simple man, and that's one of my simple pleasures in life.
Unfortunately, it's one that I don't get to indulge too often. For one, my place of residence is horribly devoid of anywhere to just "go see" a band without making some serious arrangements beforehand. And most importantly, most of the rock albums I hear these days just don't give me that feeling. That's why I'm thankful for bands like Sweet Water, whos latest, Superfriends is one of those albums that fills me with the aforementioned urge.
Superfriends is to rock music what lymon is to Sprite. It's the perfect mix of songs with a message like "Painless" and "Self-Hater" and songs that are about bars and women and whatnot, like "Big Rock Show" and "Superstar." It's also one of the best rock albums you'll hear all year.
When trying to think of a way to describe the band's sound, I kept thinking of other bands and Sweet Water's similarities to them. Not in the same way that you would compare Ratt and Motley Crue to The New York Dolls (ripoff), or the way that you would compare Van Halen with...well, Van Halen (pale shadow of their former selves). What you find in Sweet Water is a compilation of their influences, and where I found it difficult to pinpoint certain bands, the genres were unmistakable. There's the biting sarcasm of punk in "Self-Hater" and the sheer fun of "Happy" and "Back Into Your Way" that's synonymous with good party rock.
The band is fronted by Adam Czeisler, who, in the tradition of great rock vocalists before him, doesn't have the best voice in the world, but has the perfect voice for his band. Guitarist Rich Credo, along with bassist Cole Peterson and drummer Paul K. Uhlir, all fit perfectly in the group as well. No one member of Sweet Water stands above all the rest, giving the band and their album a solid feel that you don't find in bands which are centered around one key player.
And regardless of each song's lyrical and musical base, one thing stays the same. Sweet Water has a uncanny knack for a good hook in a song, give each individual track it's own unique voice. When Czeisler sings "I want to run away and make everybody sorry, I'll get my revenge" in "Self-Hater", you immediately remember that not two minutes ago in the same song, he expressed his desire "to be a hero and save a life." And when you contrast this with the borderline Bon Jovi-esque sentiments of "Superstar" and "Adeline", you realize that this is the kind of songwriting that sets Sweet Water apart from so many of their contempararies. Sweet Water is a band of multiple facets, both musically and lyrically, and that is perhaps what is most refreshing about them.
The bottom line here is that there is something on this album for practically everyone, so buy a copy or ten for yourself and friends. And if you decide to go out to a bar and have a few after hearing it, then drink one for me.
