It’s finally here! CTRL+Space’s most anticipated album of 2022! Sterling’s Keep Swimming 100% delivers, and it helps us keep our heads above water. It’s amazing!
Sterling is a 3-piece Emo/Alternative/Indie band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, known for its Midwest Emo flavor. They released their Sky EP in late 2020 and CTRL+Space’s most anticipated album of 2022, Keep Swimming, in February 2022.
Connect with Sterling via their Instagram, Bandcamp, and Spotify.
Keep Swimming is filled with eight Emo masterstrokes:
- 16
- Will Communication
- On the First Day of Spring There Were (Pistols)
- The Long Road Home
- Shy
- Arms Dealer
- Fall Guy
- Injured
Keep Swimming sounds like Brand New, Modern Baseball, and Joy Division got into a committed relationship and raised a baby immersed in the Midwest Emo music scene. From drums that keep your head moving to vocals that make you genuinely feel something, Keep Swimming is indeed worthy of being CTRL+Space’s most anticipated album of 2022!
“16” opens Keep Swimming with a guitar riff that evolves into down-stroked guitar chords with a vocal melody that would make Joy Division’s Ian Curtis blush! The chorus melody is infectious!
Midwest Emo fans rejoice! “Will Communication” is the song for you! The chorus will have you communicating how much you like it because “one day,” you’ll be singing, “Whoa-oh-oh-oh!”
“On the First Day of Spring There Were (Pistols)” is another track that has you singing “Whoa-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh!” The rhythmic changes in this song are exciting; the drums almost remain the same throughout with a bouncy snare-driven beat, but the guitar and bass change from downstrokes to riffs.
“You could swear it out” is what you’ll be wailing after hearing the chorus to my favorite track on Keep Swimming, “The Long Road Home.” This track is a Midwest Emo masterpiece. It could easily be played alongside bands like Brand New and Modern Baseball! Everything from the opening riff to the contagious melody of the chorus, the drum, the bassline, to the Brand New-Esque ending will have you wanting to vibe to Sterling! Check out that harmonica!
“Shy” is one of Keep Swimming’s more lively pieces that describes a shy lady stating, “She’s softly spoken, she’s lightening and fire,” as the character in the song falls in love with her but realizes she’s more than he thought.
Starting with chill down-stroked guitars and a chill melody, “Arms Dealer” brings the energy down from “Shy.” Emotional vocals indeed carry this track as “Arms Dealer” tells the story of a relationship that has gone wrong.
“Fall Guy” brings the energy up from “Arms Dealer” and was a contender for me for my favorite track on the album. This track and “The Long Road Home” almost feel like the defining tracks on the album, as they have everything that Midwest Emo needs to pull at the heartstrings. In this track, the vocalist pushes his melody to the limit with harsh vocals bordering on post-hardcore territory and would make Brand New from the Deja Entendu era proud!
I could 100% see “Who’s going to watch me die if I’m fucking alone” written on binders and T-shirts owned by Emo kids everywhere. That line has what it takes to be iconic in the Midwest Emo scene. “Injured” was another in the battle for my favorite track on Keep Swimming, as it captures the feeling of longing and wishing you could be with that special someone despite the pain they may have caused you.
Overall, Keep Swimming will hit you in the feels from start to finish and have you singing the choruses after the first listen. Midwest Emo fans would embrace this EP with open arms as it could tell their life story of love and love lost. Fans of Modern Baseball, Joy Division, and Brand New would be delighted to have this EP in their playlist!
