“Can’t recognize myself, not that I’ve tried to.“
Swedish artist Sputnik tends to defy simple identification. Known by a variety of aliases, also including Lola’s Pocket PC and, most notably for us, Weatherday. That project spawned their most exciting work thus far, that being 2019 debut Come In. Showcasing a blend of lo-fi emo and slacker rock, these became hallmarks of the sound that otherwise is hard to place. Since then, with one collaboration EP with Asian Glow and one split single, Spunik stayed largely quiet.
That period of darkness allowed for the creation of nearly seventy songs, cut down to nineteen for sophomore LP Hornet Disaster. This translates to over seventy six minutes of expansive, yet still signature Weatherday. The opening title track acts as a fair showcase of what to expect. From Sputnik‘s high-pitched vocals to heavily compressed and wailing guitars, along with a bonus solo by Clara Polly, it makes for a lot to digest.
It must have looked like we were playing,
Making two snow angels.
First single “Angel” leans more into the emo side of Weatherday, most notably with the chorus. “Like an angel, in the shape of an angel”, it repeats. This hook makes for one of the most memorable on the album and does so despite having less than two minutes in length. The album’s first trio of tracks act as a bit of a soft (if loud) landing before diving into the rest of it.
Subsequent track “Take Care of Yourself (Paper-Like Nests)” features further juxtaposition between its blown out instrumentation on its chorus and soft bridge. This makes for one of the album’s themes, pairing its most dynamic moments with quieter passages. “Radar Ballet” performs this comparison with a sing-song refrain next to a shouted chorus featuring Sputnik‘s best uncleans. For the first time, we also hear Sputnik‘s Swedish in Weatherday with “Pulka”. All this boils down to the album’s inherent variety, preventing fatigue to some degree.
Heartbeats in my hands.
I feel heavy, sinking feeling.
The room got wide for once,
Though I barely see half of it.
Next single “Heartbeats” starts out as a more muted affair. A simple acoustic loop backs Sputnik until it breaks into the chorus. One of the poppier tracks on Hornet Disaster, it marks another moment of respite. By this point in the album, just past halfway, those minutes start to weigh heavily. The runtime does allow for significantly more sounds, but this may be where the album starts to drag on relistens.
Insufferable at two A.M.
Name more things you know me for,
Or we could just go on back inside.
A hornet’s life in just six words,
Good and bad, but mostly bad.
One of the saving graces in spite of the marathon are tracks like these towards the end. “Tiara”, the last single on the album but and second release, provides some catharsis in starting loud and getting louder still. “Agatha’s Goldfish (Sparkling Water)” follows this up with some excellent riffs, jarring and twisted. Then closer “Heaven Smile” totally changes course with a trip-hop, hypnagogic pop sound which stands alone as Hornet Disaster finally concludes.
The trouble here, again, proves to be the length, which for something with this much energy can be grating at times. What Weatherday showcases, taken as individual tracks, builds well on the ground established with Come In. The best moments truly demonstrate greatness, making for a bit of a conflicting listen. Still, this record is not the first that comes off as a bit overwrought, even too big for its own good, yet manage to achieve the highs here.
7/10
Weatherday‘s Hornet Disaster is out today, Wednesday March 19th, on Topshelf Records with pre-orders here.