Love & Desperation

Though Dave Sweetapple from Witch plays bass in Sweet Apple, the band’s impetus can be credited to John Petkovic, frontman for Cobra Verde. While he struggled after his mother’s passing, Dinosaur Jr.’s J Mascis suggested that he channel his woes into writing songs for a new band. In just less than a month, Sweet Apple was born, with Mascis drumming, Sweetapple on bass, and Tim Parnin (also from Cobra Verde) on guitar. “Do You Remember” opens with a palpable catharsis, as Petkovic works through his issues with melodic classic rock that’s cranked through colossal walls of distortion. But rather than brood through his tribulations, Petkovic triumphantly howls with a purging purification. This is evident in his autobiographical lyrics that soar over “Flying Up a Mountain,” a stompy hard rocker loaded with piping-hot guitar leads melting off the song’s hammered rhythms like cheddar on a barbecued cheeseburger. Mascis invokes remnants of Dinosaur Jr.’s Green Mind with his backing vocals in the catchy “I've Got a Feeling (That Won't Change)” before getting off the drum stool to rip a few recognizable guitar solos, starting with “Can’t See You.”