After their debut release, “Communion”, Suitor’s efforts went into sculpting a different sound with their newly expanded line up. A pared down selection of songs they wrote during this period would ultimately become “Saw You Out with the Weeds“. In the spring of 2024, the songs were recorded live in Lawrence, Kansas by Caufield Schnug and Lira Mondal of Sweeping Promises.
Suitor’s wide range of influences and exploratory ethos are on full display in this concise yet diverse set of tracks. The record is a push and pull between elements of noise pop, post-punk, and indie rock, balanced by densely worded vocal melodies and strong, captivating hooks. Embracing a larger wall-of-sound approach for the mix, “Saw You Out with the Weeds” is filled with sharp, layered guitars and driving rhythms that course through all of its shimmering textures.
“Factory” is featured on Suitor – Saw You Out with the Weeds. Available 20th on LP/digital from Feel It Records.
The five members of Suitor, one of the city’s best and most exciting bands since their formation in 2020. Guitarist Chris Corsi suggests that the horn signals the start of a warmup round for the serious pinballers in the house.
Suitor are Northeast Ohio heads through and through. Shepard grew up in Akron and Hudson and met her bandmates when they were attending college in Kent. Her mother and uncle played in Akron new wave bands (Unit 5 and the Bizarros, respectively), and her father owns Akron’s Time Traveler Records, a local staple for more than 45 years that’s still chugging along despite some health scares. Shepard met Corsi while working at a coffee shop in Kent, where they’d gab about early aughts indie rock bands like Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Chris Corsi, his brother and bassist John Corsi, and guitarist Stephen Ovak all went to Brecksville-Broadview Heights High School, where they’d run into each other at football games and yap about hair metal. Drummer Ryan Matricardi hails from Lakewood, and Shepard distinctly recalls their first meeting in Kent when Matricardi swapped her PBR for a Lady Bligh and Coke and simply quipped, “Turn up!”
“Saw You Out With The Weeds” is definitely gnarlier than its predecessor. Matricardi’s cymbals crackle and itch, and Shepard’s gauzy vocals bob above and below the mix with spooky mystique. Their dual guitars zigzag with delightfully fractured tones and thrash with newfound bluster. Meanwhile, John’s tactile, low-toned bass throbs and slinks, grounding the whole affair. Their driving, distorted eeriness recalls the Chameleons and more recently, Robber Robber. Their guitars have an Omni-like twistiness. And Shepard’s dynamic vocals allow them to shapeshift from floaty drone pop and talky punk to wailing, melancholic post-punk and noise-rock.
The Fat Angel Sings 