Austin, TX’s Sweet Talk were formed in 2011 after Stephen Svacina (Uptown Bums, Ex-Mind Spiders) moved from the college town of Denton to the insanely bright, LED condo lights of the Live Music Capital of the World. He wasn’t in Austin long before finding Indiana transplant/guitar virtuoso Mitch Fraizer (Church Shoes, Shawn David McMillen Band, Loteria), sleeping on his couch and talking non-stop about vintage guitars and ICP. Naturally, two soon bonded over their love of 70s British classic rock, early 80s power pop, sandwiches, etc. and began work on a new project.
(photo by Jon Chamberlain)
Drawing from material that Svacina had written and recorded before leaving Denton, the two enlisted the rhythm section of fellow former Dentonites Harpal Assi (Wiccans, Video) and Troy Tabner (Uptown Bums, Pharaohs) and in early 2013 released their debut album ‘Pickup Lines’ on 12XU to near universal acclaim. Six months later, they released the Mark Ryan/Jeff Burke produced ‘Flash of Light’ EP with Marley Jones (OBN III’s, ex- Jonly Bonly) replacing Tabner on drums and further solidified their status as master craftsmen of the classic pop song.
Inbetween they did a few jaunts through the United States, played live on Terre T’s “Cherry Blossom Clinic” on WFMU, and had their music utilized in a shampoo commercial that we’re told can only be seen on “Russia’s version of YouTube” (we admit, this sounds pretty suspicious, but it really happened). The end of 2013 prompted a short break for Sweet Talk collectively but not individual, with members spending the rest of the year touring with other ensembles such as OBN IIIs, Church Shoes, and Radioactivity.
The first half of 2014 saw original drummer Troy Tabner return to the fold and well as young blood Jordan Rivell stepping in to take over bass duties. The new ‘Double Perfect’, recorded in part by Orville Neeley (OBN III’s) and Matthew Melton (Warm Soda, Bare Wires), though not a massive stylistic departure from Sweet Talk’s prior works, is arguably their best recording & collection of songs to date (and around here WE LIKE TO ARGUE). Svacina is nudging his way into the pantheon of songwriting greats, and on the all-important CHOPS FRONT, Fraizer is matching him stride for stride. In what may well be a golden age for smart, funny & crazy-catchy rock’n’roll out of this region, Sweet Talk’s world-fucking-class credentials make way more sense on record than on paper. We’re happy to provide both, however. Catch these guys this Fall on tour all over the place (or, if you’re impatient and live in Austin, 9/16 at Cheer Up Charlie’s, 9/22 at The Mohawk or 10/10 at Hotel Vegas).
2) As already mentioned in this space, the new OBN III’s album, ‘Worth A Lot Of Money’ (12XU 084-1) comes out next Monday, September 14. Stream the entire (fucking) thing above , or catch the band as living-breathing-humans at the following venues :
9/12 Metro Gallery, Baltimore MD (with Sick Thoughts)
9/13 Middle East (Upstairs), Cambridge MA
9/15 Union Pool, Brooklyn NY (with Pampers)
9/16 Blue Skies Turn Black, Montreal Quebec
9/17 Spectra Sonic, Ottawa, Ontario
9/18 Smiling Buddha, Toronto Ontario
9/19 Now That’s Class, Cleveland OH
9/20 Cafe Bourbon, Columbus OH
9/21 PJ’s Lager House, Detroit MI
9/22 Empty Bottle, Chicago IL
9/23 Trumpet Blossom Cafe, Iowa City IA
9/24 Cactus Club, Milwaukee WI
9/25 Melody Inn, Indianapolis IN
9/26 Cafe Berlin, Columbia MO
9/27 Blind Tiger, Topeka KS
9/28 Opolis, Norman OK
9/29 Lola’s Saloon, Dallas TX