Swords, Sunny

Boy I sure love the Spirit Halloween theme song. Obviously, it was timelier a few weeks ago, but the song's not any less fun. I've recently been hearing a lot of/about Lutsko over the last few weeks, I guess buoyed by Spirit Halloween, and so RC this week is a little spot of synchronicity.

Because of Spirit, my first thought was Swords would be a bunch more parody type songs, sort of an internet Weird Al. This isn't quite right; the songs are more original. Neil Cicierega might be a better comparison? Doing goofy internet songs and then building up layers from there? But the Mouth albums composition through sampling rather than from scratch. Maybe it's the catchy melodies with just cheeky enough lyrics, like Cheekface but far less on-the-nose?

Well, whatever it is, it's in my lane. Ostensibly it's all alt/indie rock with some psychedelia/americana, but Lutsko has enough variety to make the album feel extremely textured. You see it near the start—take the end of "Sideshow," weird as it is, segueing into "Superior." My favorite track in "Sometimes" is a high tempo jam with compelling lyrics (reminds me a bit of that Picard quote), possibly marking the turn of the "sadder" part of the album. That track goes right into the spooky carnival waltz of "Stairwell," when it all gets real weird for sure. Closing with "Software," we have another mixed-downer song, again in a unique melody and style from the rest.

There's a handful of these eleven tracks that are fine but not terribly memorable (they begin with an S I think?). But the tracks that stand out are big ear worms with original heart; to get that from an internet parody guy is unexpected and delightful. In my mind's eye, he’s playing all these songs in that same wainscoted room.

P.S. I don’t get the "S" thing; someone plz explain.

P.P.S. This is a half-baked thought but Lutsko's political/parody songs make me wonder if a new style has emerged in the ethos of the "Tim and Eric” aesthetic used for disseminated cultural commentary. Is it real or am I just in the bubble? I had a similar thought with AGNB being a modern throughline of gonzo journalism. Is there a throughline from Guthrie to Lutsko and those between, or is that insane?