Sweetbreads translates an Open Mic stage to stellar storytelling
The latest single from Sweetbreads, a project by New York-based singer-songwriter Melody Stolpp, was released on August 7. Open Mic is a gentle but powerful indie-folk track, where Sweetbreads explores her relationship with ambition and artistry after attending an open mic night with a friend struggling with addiction.
With a slow and quiet start, the track immediately takes on an introspective tone that the vocals match. Stolpp has a meditative quality to her voice that is reinforced time and time again by her thoughtful lyrics and penchant for storytelling, immersing the listener in her world. Open Mic explores the reality of being a passionate musician in a world where passion is not nearly enough to get a gig, and the line between ambition and obsession is clear until you have to stand between it.
Stolpp’s voice is the standout of this single—it balances a raw, genuine tone with the powerfully layered harmonies that adorn her music. She rewards listeners with a gradual emotional buildup that culminates in a fiercely strong final bridge and chorus, and pulls back again for the last verse.
A fantastic parallel is created between Sweetbreads and her friend, Jeanie, when it comes to talking about their respective vices. As she introduces Jeanie, Sweetbreads sings, “she’d do almost anything to separate her mind from her body,” and in a later verse she tells the audience, “I’d do almost anything, just to be heard and seen.”
This symmetry between her and her friend is a central inspiration for this specific track, as she shared in a statement released by her label: “Watching my friend struggle made me think about my own obsessions and addictions, and the things we all cling to in order to escape reality.”
The spacey and earnest instrumentals of Open Mic add to the reflective tone and create an atmospheric setting for Sweetbreads to sing through. Though they don’t take center stage in the track, the guitar and drum backing provide an excellent foundation for the heartfelt story. It is easy for the audience to imagine Sweetbreads sitting in a room full of other performers, all waiting desperately for their chance to perform.
By using a lived experience to dig into the ways we try to understand each other’s hardships, Stolpp creates a beautiful and honest piece of work part of Sweetbreads’ debut album Punisher of Love, releasing on September 25. She got to celebrate Open Mic’s release as she went on tour alongside fellow musician Jacqueline Hackett throughout August.
