A melodic exploration of vices, Seven Deadly Sins is a new album from Chicago-based artist Joseph Schwartz. An approachable alt-rock production, made in collaboration with Udio, bolsters these eight tracks — with each one depicting a character who embodies each sin without remorse. “Each song exposes the dangers of a particular sin through the singer, who embodies the sin, but does not see it as wrong or bad,” Schwartz explains.
Opening track “Sloth” conjures a jangle-pop nostalgia, hearkening a ’90s commercial alternative appeal as lyrical yearning to “find my way,” resonates. Twinkling guitar twangs build further into the descriptive setting — wherein one’s day-to-day mainly consists of couch-set living and watching the same thing on TV, over and over. Depictions of personal paralysis conveys the struggles involved in bettering oneself, getting off the couch and into a state of productivity.
A heavy-rocking ardor shows on “Greed,” whose opening line — “I want the whole world, everything in gold,” — exudes the insatiable desire the greed brings upon. “I feel no shame,” the vocals pour out during the replay-inducing chorus, referencing the aforementioned state of non-remorse these character depictions of vices show. The ensuing “Lust” appeals in a similar realm, referencing a “hunger,” and resulting “emptiness,” that arises from an addiction to lust and living only in the present moment, in general.
Another standout, “Gluttony” lyrically refers to unending cravings into an anthemic hook — lamenting how “it weighs me down.” The “every bite is like a friend,” representations of how consumption can be comfortably numbing is especially enveloping, marking one of many successes throughout the well-produced, thematically resonant Seven Deadly Sins.
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“Sloth” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
