Music Review: Sweet Sweet – ‘In Tandem’ EP

There are campfire songs that everyone raucously joins in on, and then there are the gentle ones that softly and slowly close the night as revelers become too drowsy and content to do anything but stare at the flames. Myrtle Beach-based Sweet Sweet’s In Tandem is a collection of the latter.

On top of that, the way Kerrine Gifford (cello and vocals) and Jeremy Dunham (guitar and vocals) chose to organise their set gives the feeling of winding down for the night. The EP opens with the driving, energetic, foot-tapping “To the Stars” and closes with their gentlest offering, “Lost Kids”, with the other three numbers becoming increasingly gentle.

All five songs are acoustic guitar-led and feature the cello either as background hints or forefront star. The overall mood is cheerful and optimistic, be it in the very happy, uptempo, and warm “To the Stars” or the soothing and gentle “Cellar and Closets”, where the cello takes on its more audible role. Toes will keep tapping throughout the entire set.

Little variations make each contribution to In Tandem unique enough to keep listener’s ears interested. “Lost Kids” and “Remind Me” open with the cello as opposed to the others that start off with the guitar. “Remind Me” also features a very different polka-inspired melody as well as female backing vocals harmonizing with the main male ones.

This EP will encourage lovers of folk, indie, and Americana music to give the band a go; for those that fall in love with Sweet Sweet, there is a good chance that these and their others songs are just as good—if not better—in a live performance. Until then, tracks are available for streaming on SoundCloud. More information about the band is available on their official website.