THE SWEEPLINGS Deliver A Message of Hope With “Shipwrecks” + Announce New Album ‘Debris’ Out 4/8
February 18, 2022 BY Jason Currell
Today, indie-folk duo The Sweeplings proudly announce their new full-length album Debris, due out on April 8th via Nettwerk Records. Members Cami Bradley and Whitney Dean see this record as a new beginning as they trace an arc from highs and lows, death and grief to birth and joy over the course of seven songs. Accompanying the announcement is the passionate single “Shipwrecks.” The lyrics offer images of hope when all seems lost. For anyone who is overwhelmed, broken down, or suffering, they provide a light in the dark.
The accompanying music video was filmed during a storm in Austin, Texas. We see Cami and Whitney washed ashore, illustrating how we are all “shipwrecks” with our own damages, but it’s how we rise above that matters.
“We had some melody ideas… We have this little phrasebook we sometimes use to get ideas, and we found these phrases that revolved around shipwrecks and realized that kind of lyric was just right,” explains Whitney. “We’re all bothered, we’re all struggling, we’re all just a wreck trying to figure out how to get to shore safely.”
“Shipwrecks” joins recent releases “Please Don’t” and “Hush (What A Mess),” on the new album due out April 8th via Nettwerk. “Shipwrecks” is available on all digital retailers (here).
WATCH + SHARE “SHIPWRECKS” HERE:
With their sweeping melodies and waves of lyrical brilliance, the songs of The Sweeplings burn with emotional incandescence that melts away the dull edges of hearts jaded by the difficulties of life. The group’s music unfolds cinematically, spiraling out with a shivering passion that sweeps out the ashes of loss and grief and stokes the fires of joy and jubilance. The Sweeplings—Cami Bradley and Whitney Dean—layer lush piano chords over sparkling guitar lines, building a musical foundation for the duo’s shimmering, tender, and soaring vocals. We feel every emotion the duo feels as the spirit of their music flows through the speakers, and we’re moved by the soulful honesty.
Since emerging with their self-titled EP in 2014, The Sweeplings maintained a prolific pace. They built a growing catalog, consisting of four EPs Covers, Ch. 1 [2016], Winter’s Call [2016], Sleepwalking [2017], and Merrier Days [2017], their full-length, Rise & Fall [2017] and subsequent Losing Ground Volumes 1 & 2. Between frequent touring, they attracted acclaim from NPR, Huffington Post, Atwood Magazine, and more. Their cinematic style landed various syncs on Pretty Little Liars, The Vampire Diaries, Good Behavior, Longmire, and The Fosters in which they also appeared for a performance of “In Too Deep.”
On their new album, Debris, The Sweeplings trace an arc of highs and lows, from death and grief to birth and joy, in a collection of sonically expressive songs that echo poignantly the inexpressible heart-rending hollowness of loss and the indescribable jubilation of welcoming new life into the world. The songs on the album stem from a difficult time that started just before the pandemic, but they were written during the pandemic as responses to particular life events. As Cami and Whitney reflect, the album “goes through the process of the year—Cami’s dad died unexpectedly in March 2020, and Whitney and his wife, Bethany, had their first child just three days later. The arc of the album follows this narrative, but the album flows sonically even without that narrative. Every one of these songs is brand new, written in that moment and it felt right.”
With Debris, The Sweeplings have produced an album that expresses their vision of music, and for that, we are all the richer: “Our goal is to connect music to universal experiences and create a vessel in which people can find expression for thoughts & feelings they may not have known existed. Our greatest desire is that through our music people can see loss and pain but also hope for the future.”
The Sweeplings in the Press:
“Spokane, Wash. singer Cami Bradley and Huntsville, Ala. singer/songwriter Whitney Dean, who met on a whim and, less than a year later, are making music that seems to contain decades of intimacy.” –NPR Music
“…the most gorgeous music by a folk-pop duo…” –PopMatters
“…perfectly balanced vocal harmonies and pulsing piano, textured with light strings. It is elegance in simplicity at its finest.” –American Songwriter
“Haunting, bittersweet and altogether mesmerizing..” –Atwood Magazine
