The Sweet Nuthin is All In, pulling out every stop for a riffy, rollicking joyride. The Austin quartet is a project of former members from two wunderkind rock groups, The Daze and The Steps, the latter having toured the UK and Japan in their teens, while the other gave street cred to Disney’s Bandslam in between sweltering blues-rock sets in Texas dancehalls. Lead vocalist/guitarist Evan Charles evokes Pete Doherty with a Southern drawl as the combo deftly packages bouncy, loose instrumentation into tight song units, channelling the Rolling Stones, early Kings of Leon, and the Libertines.
The track revs up with a fat rimshot-kick beat, then pauses for Charles to announce the start of the race. But before he can finish, a rush of jangly guitars, thick Rickenbacker bass, and drums impatiently crash in. Layers of guitars banter at an impossible clip, chirping arpeggiations and three solos in the two and a half minute scorcher. Sounds exhausting, but at the heart of this blood pumping anthem is a sweet optimism, a bruised love story capable of surviving on pure adrenaline.
– Whitaker Elledge
