Sweeping Promises

Defined by their soaring vocals and punchy yet faded sound, Sweeping Promises refashion post-punk, lo-fi, and minimal electronics in fierce and surprising ways. Their subversive mix of noise, melody, and politically charged lyrics continues the tradition of Pylon, Kleenex/LiLiPUT, and Devo, but the duo is far from predictable. Despite Lira Mondal and Caufield Schnug's lengthy tenure in the indie scene, Sweeping Promises' 2020 debut album Hunger for a Way Out seemed to appear out of nowhere, perfectly timed to comment on the suffocating frustrations of late-stage capitalism and the COVID-19 pandemic. On 2023's bracing Good Living Is Coming for You, the duo imbued their unmistakable sound with sharper and more personal lyrics. Vocalist/bassist Mondal and guitarist/drummer Schnug met in 2008 when they were students at Arkansas' Hendrix College. Mondal, an Arkansas native, was a vocal performance music major; Schnug, who grew up in Austin, Texas playing in punk bands, was studying English and film studies. The pair bonded over their love of acts such as Television and Mazzy Star, and by the time they moved to Boston for Schnug's PhD work at Harvard University, they had played with several groups. One of the most notable was the wistful indie pop project Mini Dresses, whose albums included 2017's self-titled debut and 2019's Heaven Sent. Additionally, Schnug made a name for himself as part of the mastering team Melody Men, who took an artfully minimalist approach that focused on analog equipment and mono recording techniques (during this time, Mondal also gained experience as a sound engineer). For their work as Sweeping Promises, Mondal and Schnug adopted a more direct sound and songwriting process than any of their previous projects, and in late 2019 and early 2020, they recorded an album's worth of songs in a cavernous, converted laboratory with a single microphone. Arriving in August 2020 on the Cincinnati, Ohio label Feel It Records, Hunger for a Way Out quickly became a word of mouth indie success thanks to its insistent songs and murky ambience. However, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Schnug and Mondal lost their jobs and temporarily moved in with Schnug's family in Austin. It was there that they recorded November 2021's "Pain Without a Touch," a slightly more polished-sounding single recorded at Estuary Recording and in the bathroom of the Schnugs' home. By the time Feel It and Sub Pop co-released the single, Mondal and Schnug had settled in a Lawrence, Kansas home with a spacious studio. Following a tour with drummer Spenser Gralla, the duo set to work on its next album. On June 2023's Good Living Is Coming for You, Sweeping Promises paired their raw sonics with even more pointed commentary on consumption, aging, and self-destructive tendencies.
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