The Daily Spin II
Jelani Aryeh | The Sweater Club
Welcome back to the Daily Spin. For the uninitiated, this is the series in which I review an album every day of 2025.
As was the case two years ago, my favorite song from each album can be found at the playlist linked here.
Album: The Sweater Club (2024)
Artist: Jelani Aryeh
Link:
Jelani Aryeh makes a sort of androgynous pop-rock that, when it’s good, is absolutely fantastic, but tends to fade into an undecided mess too frequently to be immensely enjoyable.
On The Sweater Club, Aryeh’s second effort, this becomes deeply clear pretty immediately. The first half/two-thirds of the album is driving rock, strong head and broad shoulders, full of clean lyricism, great guitar play, and a lot of tunes to get your head bopping. The second half moves into slow jam territory, but feels unwilling to fully commit, as the first half also maintains a presence of tranquility despite attempting to boast energetic.
At the end of the day, you can’t have your cake and eat it too. Failing to choose between rockstar and soft darling leaves The Sweater Club a mess more frequently than it does a refined balancing act, and the listener pays for it.
Rating: 6/10
Best Tracks: I’m In Love
Worst Tracks: Evangeline