Seen/Unseen

Sweet Trip announced their breakup with the release of Seen/Unseen, a 50-track digital compendium (later issued as a 19-track double LP) of mostly unheard non-album tracks from throughout their career. The title is the same as a fan-assembled playlist of compilation tracks and SoundCloud demos, and the demos surface here, along with the simple, bittersweet "KKMJ," from a compilation of Filipina shoegaze acts. Everything else here is previously unknown to anyone outside of the band itself, and its a jaw-dropping amount of exceptional work. Even though much of this material might not have previously seen the light of day because it didnt fit in the context of one of their albums, its still too good to remain in the vault. Genre-wise, it reaches every style heard on the groups albums, plus a few that they didnt explore more thoroughly, including brief attempts at sludge metal ("XEST") and hip-hop ("I Want My Cone," a goofy fake rap about ice cream). The collection seems to lean heavily on glitchy electronic experiments, dance tracks, and space rock jams, but theres also a generous number of proper songs as well, even if not all of them are fully fleshed out. A cover of the Beach Boys "Darlin" is a delightful surprise, and it makes a natural fit for Sweet Trips style, even as they transform it from gliding shoegaze to shimmering breakbeat techno. "Route of Escape" is much rawer and nervier than the band are known for, and it instantly ranks among their best indie rock songs. A longtime fan favorite, the original demo of "Things to Ponder While Falling," is included, and the apartment-recorded acoustic performance of "Milk" might be even better than the You Will Never Know Why version because the bongos on the studio recording are so distracting. For a group that covered such a wide array of stylistic and emotional terrain during their existence, Seen/Unseen shows that Sweet Trip had more potential than even longtime fans were aware. ~ Paul Simpson