This is not an album review but rather an announcement to say Sydney Sleadd & The Swarm just released their excellent debut and 'genre-fluid' album called Creature Untamed. They describe their music as "Midwestern sad girl surf grunge" with a little bit of soul and outlaw country. Sydney is a storyteller in her sometimes dark tales of woe and heartbreak, conjuring up desert motifs, a 67 Chevy, and lots of fire.
Working as a solo artist for several years, she formed the band with guitarist, keyboardist, and songwriter J Mitchell (formerly of Nellie Pearl) in 2023. They had played together many times in the past but it was time to join forces and move in a new direction. The band also features Matt Davis on bass and Kolby Tatom on drums. The album has Caleb Elliott on Cello, Kimmie Samson on Violin, and Ben Tanner who arranged the strings. It was mixed by Dave Chale at Deadbird studios and mastered by Shelley Anderson at Black Lab Mastering.
Do yourself a favor and listen to Creature Untamed which is now streaming. Do yourself an even bigger favor and catch them live when you can!
