Upscale Swill – To Live and Die in the Midwest
By Brandon Henry
Upscale Swill’s full length album To Live and Die in the Midwest is a refreshing listening experience. It’s an album that tells a story through ten beautifully crafted folk-pop songs that bounce from sun-shiny love songs to heart-wrenching ballads of two souls drifting apart. These aren’t songs that graze the surface of love’s complexities. They are heavy hitters that explore its emotional peaks and dive deep into its valleys. From the moment you press play until the delicate closing track, you’re going to experience the entire palette of love’s emotions and that is what makes To Live and Die in the Midwest such an impactful album.
Kicking off with the hook-laden tracks “Simple,” “My Kinda Girl” and “ The Chill” we find the narrator falling in love and gazing into the future. But by the album’s soulful midpoint, “Out of Ink” finds the narrator lamenting that his “pen has run out of songs” as his love has drifted apart. On songs “Since Then” and “Hits Me” the singer begins to face a new reality on his own. “Gloria” and “Don’t Be Afraid” bring the listener out of the dust and rubble with a hip-swaying drive and delivery that is reminiscent of Rhett Miller’s (Old 97s) solo material.
On the album’s sobering and beautifully sung closing track “Surfing” that features lead vocals by Molly Solomon of Communist Daughter, we are reminded that no matter how much you plan “life isn’t born or raised to be so certain or more than we make/Life is a tidal wave and we’re all surfing on boards meant to break.” Love can often blind us to the realities of life’s journey and To Live and Die in the Midwest illustrates this perfectly.
The concept album by Jonathan Earl and Mischa Suenmig was recorded at Jonathan Earl’s Farmhouse Records in River Falls over a 5 year period, and as a companion piece to the music, each download comes with the comic artwork that reflects scenes and ideas from each song as illustrated by the formerly Minneapolis-based illustrator Corby Ortmann.
Upscale Swill Release Dual Release show with j.Bell & the Lazy Susan Band tonight at the Whiskey Junction, Doors 7pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/662041477303896/?action_history=null
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