Sweet Pill’s Unraveled: A Live Acoustic Performance
Sweet Pill is a band I will always have a deep appreciation and love for. Hell, chances are if you’ve driven over a bridge from Philadelphia to South Jersey with your windows down, you’ll hear me blasting their catalogue. Why? Because it just feels right. Not only are they local to my area, they signify the next iteration of the sound of the scene’s DIY bands and mentality that we all grew up with years back. They have been on such an upward swing, I couldn’t be happier knowing they’ve earned fans across the US and more recently around the world as they’ve toured almost every major country, with more to follow. After listening and loving “Cut”, the track closer to Where The Heart Is from 2022, I knew more explorative and creatively intriguing music would come forth from the Philadelphia-bred five piece. (But we all know they’re from New Jersey)
They released Starchild, an EP in 2024 when signing to Hopeless Records, and another in 2025 titled Unraveled, which featured rearranged tracks from their debut album and the aforementioned EP. Calling them acoustic tracks feels too feeble, as the performance and quality presented feels closer to a minimalist retelling of the stories each track told. The softer instrumentation that syncs together effortlessly with the powerful lead and backing vocals the band has always been notably belting makes this a notable release and step forward in their sound. If you weren’t lucky enough to catch their one-time performance of Unraveled earlier this year, we are fortunate that it was recorded and now released via the band’s YouTube channel.
Sweet Pill - Unraveled (Live Acoustic Performance) at Underground Arts
I could go on and on about this band. Their music speaks for itself thankfully, but I love how well composed and arranged this performance was, including the red thread-ed themes and artistic landscape they’ve built between releases that now line the stage of Underground Arts in Philadelphia. High Hopes might be my favorite from the EP, turning the track into an alt-country hit that never fails to delight. This EP definitely qualms my curiosity on where the band is headed, and as they’ve just mentioned they’re recording LP2, I am certain it will blow us all away. Please, grab your favorite glass of wine, and enjoy this performance in full when you can make the time.
Support the band/EP here.
Written by Evan Lurie
