Review: Sweat – Who Do They Think They Are?

Tee Pee Records (May 26th 2023)

Reviewer: Dan Mann

Until the arrival of the promo in my inbox I’ll admit that I hadn’t heard of Pittsburgh-based Swiss-American quartet, Sweat. But I’m damn glad I have now!

Sweat are one of the ‘new breed’ of bands, along with the likes of DeWolff,  keeping that classic 70’s/vintage rock sound alive, and whilst some may say you need to move & look forward, this re-visiting of the sounds from that era is more than fine by me.

One small fly in the ointment for some may be the band name. Let’s face it, a name can either encourage or put people off completely. Hopefully people look past it.

The timing of ‘Who Do They Think They Are?‘ couldn’t be better, what with the success of Daisy Jones & The Six on Amazon Video, it just shows that plenty of people have a healthy appetite for this particular sound and groove.

If you want a quick comparison with other bands, think classic Fleetwood Mac & Heart with a helping of Boston thrown in and you won’t be far off the mark.

I’ve played ‘Who Do They Think They Are?‘ multiple times without any sign of album fatigue, the level of musicianship combined with the strength of the song writing is an absolute joy.

With tracks like ‘My Side Of The Mountain‘ which just builds into that sort of wonderful song that has you reach and turn up the volume and then settle back and let the music wash over you. Or the delicate acoustic last song ‘Into The Lake‘, that slowly draws the album to a close. Or ‘Errors‘ with it’s classic Hammond organ intro. ‘Jane‘ would probably be the song I’d play to someone to illustrate what the band & album are all about sound and influence wise.

Is ‘Who Do They Think They Are?‘ flawless? I guess the only song I’m not so fond of would be ‘Ice Cream Man‘. There’s nothing really wrong with the track, I like most of its Heart meets Boston overtones, it’s just the chorus I’m not big on, the repetitive singing of the song title becomes a tad annoying, but hey I’m just being picky here.

If you’re a fan of the bands I’ve mentioned, be it Heart, Fleetwood Mac, Boston etc then it’s an absolute no brainer as to whether you buy the album. If you want to just hear some great honest music, then go on dip your toe in and enjoy!