SweetCell is the brainchild of Melbourne guitarist and songwriter, Joel Keane. The project is quite the obsession for Keane, which sees him draw upon a wealth of influences, including 80s New York new wave, 90s Brit pop, and post 2K prog, and alt rock.
SweetCell began performing live in 2019, with their lineup ranging from 5 to 7, and including saxophone and horns in their instruments. Their latest single, ‘The Barrios (The Mask Mixes 2’) is a remix of a single from their debut album, ‘Outer’, which was released in February last year.
Sonically the lyrical and melodic influences come from artists such as David Bowie, and REM, and their inspiration is heard clearly in the vocals, particularly the echoing backing vocals, trippy effects, and synthesisers whose sound at times is a very pleasing rhythmic smudge of reverb and white noise. As always, we recommend listening both through headphones and via speakers, to fully appreciate the multi-layered nuances of the track, and intricate chord progressions.
‘The Barrios’ is named for the Spanish word “Barrio”, meaning “quarter” or “neighbourhood”, and was inspired by a series of photos of a Spanish locality. The track is the second single from The Mask Mixes series.
You can find out more about SweetCell and their music online on Facebook, Instagram, Spotify, Apple Music, and Bandcamp.
