At the time of writing, this five track debut EP is fully fifteen months old . Shamefully late as it is , this review is perhaps not so redundant given that the band's debut LP (Sugar For My Soul) is due out soon (scheduled for release in April 2010).
Sweet Jane were, and are still, a guitar rock trio from Dublin who , says singer Lydia Des Dolles, always get compared to The Velvet Underground, a somewhat irrational complaint given the band's name and sound.
Probably her frustration stems from the fact that reviewers are all too eager to make a check list of influences rather than lauding them as an autonomous unit in their own right. Lydia will probably be miffed, therefore, that I am not about to buck this trend here.
In my defence, I would argue that their inspirations are so obvious that I would challenge anyone to listen to the title track without thinking of Jesus & Mary Chain. Similarly ,Heartbreak borrows heavily from Raw Power era of The Stooges and, above all, it's nigh on impossible to dismiss the debt they owe to the Velvets. Sweet Jane have even nailed the stylishly sleazy look of their idols.
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But the key thing to stress is that none of this is intended as a negative criticism or to suggest they are little more than a nostalgia driven tribute band.
After all, the heady combination of psychedelic fuzz guitar and deadpan vocals never truly dates and is a sound that beats bouncy commercial pop hands down every time.
It will be interesting to hear if the album marks a change of direction but I like them just fine the way they sound here.
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