aaamusic | On 31, May 2011

There is nothing necessarily wrong with “The Avenue” but it is a puzzling track that has to make the listener wonder what exactly Sweetheart were trying to achieve. The juxtaposition of lyric and melody can either come across as incredibly clever or intensely dislikeable dependent on which camp you are situated in. The track is full of catchy hooks that frankly sound  like The Hoosiers meeting Scouting For Girls whilst the lyric is menacing featuring pleasantries such as “she is a whore” whilst they talk about stabbings. In honesty, the band seems to me to have attempted to do something here that simply doesn’t work and instead comes off as attempting to trick the listener; the sound of the track is intensely radio friendly and yet the lyrical content is just so dark it doesn’t fit. You can call it a clever juxtaposition but in my opinion if you want to create a dark ambience around your music then put it in the right setting rather than in songs that appeal to eleven year olds! Those that think it’s easy to write pop music are wrong; creating hooks as catchy as this is no mean feat but Sweetheart are trying to create an aesthetic for themselves that is frankly confused.

Author: Josie Payne