The Trouble with Sweeney

The Trouble with Sweeney was a band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that existed from 1999 to 2004.^[1]

The band's songwriter and frontman Joey Sweeney started the band five years after leaving The Barnabys and recording a solo album, Heartache Baseball. They released two full-length albums and two EPs on Burnt Toast Vinyl, as well as a self-titled EP which was released shortly after their formation. They also released an EP on the Basement Life imprint called Play Karen (and Others) in 2002.^[2] Many of the band's songs depict life in the city of Philadelphia and the surrounding area, and their final EP, Fishtown Briefcase, is named after a Philadelphia neighborhood.^[3][4] "The Counterfeiters" from I Know You Destroy! and "Waiting for Gary" from Play Karen (and Others) directly refer to or quote the writings of André Gide, a French author.^[5][6]

Joey Sweeney wrote for alternative weekly newspaper Philadelphia Weekly in the 1990s^[7] is now the editor of the website Philebrity. Producer Brian McTear has gone on to mix, engineer, and produce albums for a number of notable artists, such as Marissa Nadler, Espers, Sharon Van Etten, Jens Lekman, Meg Baird, Danielson Famile, Mazarin, and Greg Weeks.^[8]

Discography

Full lengths

• Dear Life (Burnt Toast Vinyl, 2001)^[9][10][11]
• I Know You Destroy! (Burnt Toast, 2003)^[12]

EPs

• The Trouble With Sweeney (Burnt Toast, 1999)^[13]
• Play Karen (and Others) (Basement Life Recordings, 2002)^[14]
• Fishtown Briefcase (Burnt Toast, 2004)^[15]