Schvendes - Sweet Talk Your Enemies (Album)
» Schvendes release 'Sweet Talk Your Enemies' - June 26, 2008
After a long wait, Schvendes have finally released their highly anticipated first full-length album, entitled Sweet Talk Your Enemies. But don’t be deceived by the title – there is nothing remotely sweet about this album. It’s an ode to the twisted nature of fate. It’s dark, sinister and macabre. And one of the best Australian albums to be released this year.
Starting with the powerful chords of Repent and Repeat, it becomes clear that this is a very different album. Each song tells a different story, immersing you in the lives of many shady characters. The stories are from another time, where life was hard and human struggle was rampant. All the songs are rife with a sense of despondence; in Mary Bell Rachael sings "If you’re going to Tin Lizzy/ Well darling you’re better off dead".
The strings and instruments help paint a mesmerising, atmospheric album full of melancholy and dread. Tracks like Small Mercies, Sweet Graves starts off softly, with beautifully arranged strings and low vocals. But the wow moment is when this slow-burning song builds into an inferno where Rachael really pours out her heart into the raw, gravelly vocals. An absolute ripper part is when Rachael bawls "Can I crawl inside you?/ Rest my head on your heart". This is the type of song that just commands your complete attention, until the dying strains.
On the topic of dying, death is a popular theme throughout this album. St. Rita’s Home is about failing to rescue a mother from a pensioner’s home, only to have her drown in a flood. Oh, Marlon tells the grizzly story of a man who brutally murdered his neighbours, then asked his lover to burn their bodies and any evidence. When asked why he killed them, he replies ‘every man needs a hobby.’
Despite the macabre subject matter, Sweet Talk Your Enemies never becomes tedious or depressing. It is pure compelling listening from beginning to end. There is not a single weak track to be heard, and the songs will stay in your head well after you’ve heard them. This is an absolute ripper of an album.
