Artist description Yes, yes - a thousand times yes. There really is a person named Sweeney in this band. Joey Sweeney, that is - veteran of SpinART darlings, the Barnabys, and a noted documentarian of things pop cultural and music for PHILADELPHIA WEEKLY and Salon.com. And with his mates in tow, they've just finished a new album at Miner Street Studios - a little album full of love anthems called I KNOW YOU DESTROY But of course that's what you'd expect from these sly dogs who call Philadelphia home. It's their second full-length disc, and it's a keeper - full of rootsy ballads that chime and churn and bounce and burn and swirl around like the smoke from a thousand bonfires. But there's little vanity here, just great tunes and funny, ear-friendly stories spoke-sung by Sweeney in his oddly affecting voice. Mixing a bit of the Kinks with some Violent Femmes, a taste of Evan Dando with some surrealist fun along the lines of Pavement (but with cleaner guitar production), I KNOW YOU DESTROY is a swinging collection that gently (but with great determination) pushes the envelope of that beast called indie rock in a direction all its own. Rockin' is all very fine and good, and these kids do it with their own stylish disregard for fashion. But if you’re wanting a bit more content these days, Sweeney's quirky observations just might fit the bill. There are songs about smoke breaks, break-ups, dilettantes, the biggest Mary in the world (say what?) and fake mustaches. And in a perfect world, Sweeney & Company would tour the world with Dave Berman and his Silver Jews - leaving a trail of contemplative laughter and giggly musical fun in their wake. The following things all happen on I Know You Destroy!, the second album by The Trouble With Sweeney: a bisexual love triangle ends - surprise - in tears; a pair of identical twins are mudered with stereo wire and the killer flees in a Country Squire station wagon; a pair of lovers buck the prevailing wisdom and admit that they're just in it for the tension and release of sex; goth kids sneak into the graveyard at night to drink, only to realize that their friendship is based on nothing but arguing; a museum gift shop clerk falls in love; a city burns; a gang of nightclubbers get busted after-hours trying to burglarize a house that apparently has nothing interesting in it; one kid who gets bullied gets real glad when far worse bullying gets transferred to another kid; hipsters fall in love, have a baby, only to realize that they may not be ready for the straight world; and then there's a party and then another couple (who don't show up, who weren't invited) decide that it's all bullshit anyway. That's a lot to jam into eleven three-and-a-half minute pop songs, but it's totally in keeping with the arc that TTWS has drawn over its three years of existence. What's new this time around are the ambitious arrangements and stellar playing found all over I Know You Destroy! — thanks as much to producer Brian McTear (Burning Brides, Mazarin, Bigger Lovers, Matt Pond PA) as well as the new life breathed in by the new rhythm section of Mike Conklin on bass and Richard Stuverud (Pete Yorn, Threefish, Nash Kato) on drums. Meanwhile, the core duo of brothers-in-law Heyward Howkins and Joey Sweeney pony up what are perhaps the ten strongest songs they've ever written — to say nothing of an extra Byrdsy pop gem contributed by Richard. If we may be so bold, the songs here run the gamut of American music, from timpani-infused confessional rockers to geekazoid new wave to rockabilly (by way of Morrissey) shuffle to, aw, shit, some of it sounds like it's in a damn musical! None of that should be too surprising to those who've followed the broad literary/rock shuffle of the band's leader, who is as beloved (and be-hated, if indeed that is a word) as a pop culture and music critic as he is what Popmatters.com just called "one of the great pop troubadours of this fresh new century." Putting aside his pedigree as the leader of the Barnabys as well as a solo artist previous to all of this, this past year has been a huge one for the kid: In addition to penning the bulk of I Know You Destroy!, he got married, made a well-recieved EP (Play Karen And Others) with TTWS, toured the country, nabbed top honors in the AAN Award For Music Criticism, showed up in Da Capo’s Best Music Writing 2002, penned some real knee-slappers for Salon.com and then got started on two different books. Thing is, you'll find reference to none of this on I Know You Destroy! — and if you do, it is mired in a such a deep code that, hey, you know what? Be our guest. Go ahead and find it. In a world filled with critics who want to be rock stars and rock stars who want to be critics, The Trouble With Sweeney defy it all by being exactly what they are — secretly, and against all odds, one of the best bands in America.

Music Style Indie Pop

Musical Influences Pavement, Wilco, Galaxie 500, Go-Betweens, Velvet Underground, Felt, Nick Drake, Belle and Sebastian, Smog, Palace, The Zombies, Elliott Smith, Dylan, The Clientele, Magnetic Fields, Barbara Manning, Bettie Serveert, Donovan, Aztec Camera, The Smiths, Jonathan Richman, The Modern Lovers, Essex Green, The Minders, Red House Painters, Pedro the Lion, Yo La Tengo, The Kinks, Cat Power, Richard Davies, Biff Bang Pow!, Simon Joyner, Gary McFarland, Geoff Farina, Secret Stars, Neil Young, New Order, Archer Prewitt, Teenage Fanclub, His Name Is Alive, Tom T. Hall, The Verlaines, Buffalo Springfield, Tim Hardin, Harry Nilsson, Beachwood Sparks

Similar Artists Pavement, Wilco, Galaxie 500, Go-Betweens, Velvet Underground, Felt, Nick Drake, Belle and Sebastian, Smog, Palace, The Zombies, Elliott Smith, Dylan, The Clientele, Magnetic Fields, Barbara Manning

Artist History Latest and best incarnation of Philly indie rocker and writer, Joey Sweeney (ex-Barnabys). With

Group Members Joey Sweeney, Heyward Howkins, Mike Conklin, Richard Stuverud

Instruments Acoustic guitar, electric guitar, banjo, piano, bass, and drums.

Albums S/T ep, Dear Life Lp, Play Karen and Others Ep, I Know You Destroy Lp

Press Reviews "This gently rocking Philadelphia-area quintet isn't afraid to blacken Belle & Sebastian's tender eye sockets. Their debut is filled with clever songs about rundown taverns and, of all things, 'missing New Jersey.' Hailing from a long line of mechanics, leader Joey Sweeney has a jones for harmonica breaks and basslines neatly borrowed from his favorite Go-Betweens records. Blending jaunty melodies with a busted-lip, blue-collar sensibility, he's a welcome whiskey shot in indiepop's sickly sweet chocolate milk." - Spin Magazine

Location Philadelphia, PA - USA

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