THE PERSIAN LEAPS – “SWEEPS”
A SPILL EXCLUSIVE MUSIC PREMIERE
Itโs great when a band can tick so many boxes at once on your โlove listโ. Take the Twin Cities-based project The Persian Leapsย for instance โ thereโs something for everyone here (well nearly, fans of solely one genre distant from their offerings may beg to differ). A little bit of R.E.M., a little bit Lemonheads. A dash of The Smiths, a hint of The Replacements. They appeal to fans of Throwing Muses and Tom Petty equally. They are the all-reaching, down to earth, good American indie rock that so many seek.
Yet they question authority and systematic oppression and authoritative stupidity, so I guess they are one up on so the mass swarm of senseless songs out there. Now theyโre back with a new single, called “Sweeps”, teasing their Drone Etiquette LP, just as “When This Gets Out”, a song born of frustration during the Trump presidency, had done recently.
The long-player will be released on October 1 viaย Land Ski Records. This time around, they are no longer a full band but surround principal songwriter, vocalist and guitaristย Drew Forsberg. You would never know otherwise if we hadnโt told you โ the full band sound is definitely all here still and it is great as the band continues The Persian Leaps’ tradition of churning out power pop tunes that would have crowned any 90s college rock station. An eternal sound, just as powerful today.
โThe song “Sweeps” uses the television industry as a metaphor for desperation and failure. I started with the main riff and these lines and then built a song around them: They decided when we leave / Theyโll put the whole thing on TV / And the ratings will determine our return. Iโm not sure if it still matters during the streaming era, but โsweeps weekโ was a period when broadcast television networks would go all-out to achieve the highest possible ratings so they could charge more for advertising. “Sweeps” inspired some cheap, crazy, desperate stunts over the years – like the โHappy Daysโ episode where Fonzi jumps over a shark on water skis, which led to the phrase โjump the shark,โ says Drew Forsberg.
โThe exact subject of the song is open for interpretation. I wasnโt thinking about a romantic relationship when writing this song, although you could certainly interpret it that way. Usually, however, these things are about the band and my struggles with success and achieving wider recognition for the Persian Leaps. Thatโs the story Iโd like to go with โ “last release, we were on top of the world but this time around, things arenโt going well and weโre one bad review away from cancellation.โ Of course, we were never actually on top of the world, and the new EP is FANTASTIC, but Iโm entitled to take some artistic license. Nevertheless, just to be safe, buy Drone Etiquette and help send our ratings through the roof.โ
The Persian Leaps released the Electrical Livingย LP in 2019 and theย Smiling Lessonsย EP in 2020 together with Jon Hunt, a musician and graphic designer who did the cover artwork for most of the band’s releases to date. During the 2020-2021 pandemic, Forsberg recorded this 6-song Drone Etiquetteย EP as a solo effort, primarily due to lockdown limitations.
As of September 17, “Sweeps” will be available exclusively via Bandcamp, where the lead single “When This Gets Out” can already be found. On October 1, the full Drone Etiquetteย album will be released on CD and online platforms, including Apple Musicย andย Spotify. It is already available for pre-order viaย Bandcamp.
Credits
Written and performed by Drew Forsberg
Drew Forsberg – Vocals, guitars, keyboards, bass, drum programming
Recorded by August Ogren, The Terrarium
Mixed by Neil Weir, Blue Bell Knoll
Mastered by Bruce Templeton, Microphonic Mastering
Cover art by Jon Hunt
Enjoy the two latest singles, including this albumโs lead track and “Your Loss” from their previous โSmiling Lessonsโ EP:
The Persian Leaps
[Single]
(Land Ski Records)
Release Date: September 17, 2021
Artistย Links
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Background Photo Credit: Rouse Productions
