SXSW Music Spotlight: Sweet Pill

Sweet Pill (Photo by Vanessa Valadez)

In 2018, Sweet Pill formed as a senior project at New Jersey’s Rowan University. Following a chance encounter and fateful jam sesh, the emocore quintet now inhabits the burgeoning Philadelphia music scene alongside standout acts like the Wonder Years, Mannequin Pussy, and Circa Survive.

“Something’s in the water,” vocalist Zayna Youssef jokes. “The main reason we all moved to Philadelphia was because of the music, for sure. What Philly does really well is that there’s hype. I believe that it’s not so much the music, but the camaraderie that makes it really, really good.”

Last May, Sweet Pill released their full-length debut, Where the Heart Is. Guitarist Jayce Williams speaks fondly of the record, calling it “the most work and the most thought I’ve put into making anything in my life” and the foundation for his band’s music career.

Across 29 minutes, Where the Heart Is explores Youssef’s search for stability and familiarity between life chapters. The album progresses in bursts of math riffs and bellowing choruses as the singer grapples with finding comfort in the midst of uncertainty. Tracks like “Sucker Punch” and “Cut” score the anxious epic, beginning with 9-to-5 dysphoria and concluding with clearheaded realization.

The record’s positive reception, combined with the band’s Topshelf Records signing and opening for punk poets La Dispute last fall, summates Sweet Pill’s ever-growing résumé. As the Philly rockers gear up for nearly 80 days on the road across multiple tours, the band maintains near-perfect composure.

“After going through five, six bands in my lifetime, nothing has felt more natural than being in Sweet Pill,” guitarist Sean McCall muses. “Even when we do want to cut each other’s throats, we don’t actually.”

Thu 16, 11pm, Cheer Up Charlies