Band: Sweep the Leg Johnny
Album: Going Down Swingin'
Year: 2002
Label: Southern Records
I had heard of Sweep the Leg Johnny before i made this purchase. I would probably say that I was a fan, even though I haven't explored their entire catalogue. This was one of those albums that had yet to find it's way into my ear holes. So, before my ear holes are penetrated by new sounds, I'll supply some background for those unfamilliar. This Chicago band plays a jazzy type of Math rock that is often frantic and dynamically all over the place. Their inclusion of an alto sax always interested me. I felt it always added extra energy to the post rock noodling the band participated in. This album featured the guitarist from Rumah Sakit. The band has since broken up and spread it's members among bands like Haymarket Riot and ZZZZ.
The first track starts off with an alto saxophone playing a free form jazz like intro. This is interrupted by the dizzying combination of the rest of the instruments, causing a chaotic frenzy that will go on the encapsulate the album. The track is long, taking up the entire A-side. The song has plenty of energy, with the alto-sax adding plenty of momentum. About halfway, the songslowly desolves into a slower piece. Later, the track builds up again to have an awkward phase of starts and stops to bring the song to a close. What I don't like about "Sometimes My Balls Feel Like Tits" (besides the self inflicted groans that occur when saying the title to myself) is that it is too long. While I like the build up and stop/start momentum of the last couple of minutes, the dissolve takes too long. The song lays there, not moving and seems seemingly pointless. Overall however, it is a solid track that could use some trimming.
The B-side includes 2 new tracks and a re-recorded version of "The Blizzard of '99" (off of their far superior album Sto Cazzo). The first two might as well be one track, as the two sort of blend into the background. It is almost as if they had enough ideas for one song but, decided to disperse them among two tracks, unsuccessfully. "The Blizzard of '99" is a good track but, is pretty pointless seeing as it already appeared on another album.
Making up the enitrety of the C-side is "Rest Stop." Yet again, this is another re-recording, this time of a song appearing on their sophomore full length Tomorrow We Will Run Faster. The song starts off slow, segues into a faster chaos driven section only to slow down again. I really like the song, with its jazzy texture and ups and downs. Yet, the fact that it is re-recorded from another album puts a damper on the whole feeling. The realization that the two best songs on the album (so far) are recycled doesn't bode well.
The D-Side, however, completely changed my perceptions. The first (of 2) song is the slowest on the album. The song, maybe lacking the frantic energy, is still one of the most dynamic. The last song on the album (and 7th overall) is brimming with energy but, ends too quickly. Once "Transit Must Suffer" reaches it's end, I feel the need for more. While I enjoyed the first listen, to an extent, the second listen proved to be a far better experience. Time will tell how much I like this album, even though I still beleive it was cheap to recycle a couple songs.
Heres the info supplied by Southern Records. You can listen to one of the tracks ("Only in a Rerun") there. If you can somehow navigate a way in which you can purchase the album, good for you. I couldn't figure it out in the few minutes I was on the site:
