The New Jersey based emo band called Sweep Echo is really onto something great on Moments Before the Wind, an EP that was just released and is filled with stylistic, brooding hooks and that sound that is inescapably familiar for those who grew up during the emo boom of the 00’s. Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Dan Holden, guitarist Eddie Flynn, bassist Vince Mannino, and drummer Ty Perle, Sweep Echo does a great job of putting the best parts of the genre into a three song collection filled with purpose.
The opener, “Ithica 27o9” is a cover of the Mogwai track, and yet Sweep Echo tackles it and makes it their own as a way of re-introducing the world to their layered sound. The title track follows the cover song, and takes the listener down a rabbit hole of the glory days of emo lore, and has a few surprises along the way too. Holden’s vocal cadence complements the sound of the backing instruments, and he never gets lost in the wall of noise that surrounds his voice. If anything, Holden’s vocals shine like a beacon of light guiding the audience towards better days ahead.
The album closer, the cleverly titled “Ouija Bored,” brings out the best in Sweep Echo, and makes it abundantly clear that the band is not satisfied with emulating their favorite emo rock bands, they want to be your next musical obsession. If the music that they continue to create continues to be this crisp and pointed, it will only be a matter of time before Sweep Echo is in the firm conversation of bands on the rise in our scene.