Warm Ones – Sprezzatura

credit: warmones.com

Band: Warm Ones
Album: Sprezzatura
Release Date: August 24, 2009

Opening number “Bacteriostatic” leads Sprezzatura with a total bang. It’s a brash and loud three-minute romp that pounds at the ears for its entire running time.

The guitars are super noisy. Tony Sackett yells his vocals. Actually, he screams, too.

And so begins Warm Ones‘ debut album, an ambitious 14-track mix of indie rock and pop that sounds like it’s from a band that’s been around a lot longer than the five years Warm Ones had under its belt before releasing Sprezzatura.

Take “Small Spies,” which features guest vocals by The 1900s‘ Jeanine O’Toole. It’s a lovely him and her tune where Tony and Jeanine trade vocals back and forth — as if we’re eavesdropping on a conversation between Tony, who states something, and Jeanine, who counters.

They play former lovers, or maybe just lovers who are undergoing a battle of trust. And it’s vastly different from the boisterous “Bacteriostatic” that came before it. This one’s easy going and light pop.

Says Tony:

Its disappointing that this thought could occur
you are a dangerous reconnoiter
cuz you find out what I need
what I neeeeeeed
and exploit that information for you own amusement

And Jeanine:

I should investigate immediately
what secrets hide at such proximity
cuz you find out who I know
where I gooooo
It’s your imagination that has brought us to this

I’m amused by Warm Ones’ wide range of styles. “Bacteriostatic” and “Small Spies” are probably the most opposite that you’re gonna get. Then there’s “Get Shit Set,” which begins with a lengthy rock intro before Tony even hits the mic.

And again, he sounds different from the Tony we’ve heard up to that point. He isn’t the screamer or gentle crooner we heard before, but an impassioned soul that all but begs for the person he sings to to take him seriously.

Says Tony:

This is the trick of a life time
This is the one we’ve been waiting for
Don’t miss the trick of a lifetime
(shit’s gonna work out this time)

If you’re familiar with another Chicago band, Johnny Rumble, we recently reviewed in this space, a number of Warm Ones’ songs reminded me of them, too. In Particular, “Hot Flash.” Though the song doesn’t do too much for me lyrically, it has an upbeat-ness about it that would’ve aligned pretty neatly with the track listing on JR.

Give Johnny Rumble’s “Handgun Blues” a try to see what I’m getting at. Both it and “Hot Flash” — which is a bit harder — are backed by harmonized vocals and driven by drum beats.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about Sprezzatura is that Warm Ones threw in what I assume are a violin and maybe some synths on “Quiet Epilogue” — the disc’s catchiest tune — and then a violin again on the album’s final number, “Like a Game (Parts 1 & 2).” Orchestral pop is probably my favorite genre at the moment, so Warm Ones’ try at it was certainly welcomed.

As I said, Sprezzatura is an ambitious debut. And Chicagoans will get the chance to try ’em on for size live when they play The Empty Bottle in a few days. Ticket info below!

Extras:

Warm Ones, based in Chicago, is comprised of Tony Sackett (vocals/guitar), Mike Wszolek (guitar), Jon Adler (drums) and Mike Metz (bass).
Watch Warm Ones perform “Bacteriostatic” on Small Chicago.
Sprezzatura can be purchased on iTunes for $9.99.
Warm Ones will rock The Empty Bottle on September 5 with Silverghost (Detroit) and The Nothingheads (Chicago). Tickets are $3.

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