Andrew Broder and Dave King Fuse Into King Broder, Capture Their Frantic, Noisy Collaboration on New Album Sweeps

Dave King and Andrew Broder have impeccable credentials on their own, and it’s always been a treat seeing them play together, whether as a duo or as part of some ad hoc collaboration. I especially remember a stirring set at the 2020 Broder residency at the Turf Club (which we really missed this year) where the duo played on the floor of the Turf Club surrounded by a rapt audience.

Taking the next step in their partnership, the duo recently released an album under the King Broder name called Sweeps. Blending King’s madcap-yet-punishing drumming and Broder’s expansive electronic sound collages, it is an album short on songs (3) but long on ideas as it captures the creative spark the two artists create over 36 stem-winding minutes.

It kicks off with the dark, churring noise of opening title track, stretching out over eight minutes, followed by the ambient-leaning “Free Golf Clubs,” almost doubling the opener’s running time at 14:36 and seeing the song build from peaceful to pure chaos. The album closes with the bombastic “Trouble With a Landscape,” which starts out sounding like it could the a preview for the next Marijuana Deathsquads album before expanding, contracting and ending in what sounds like a free jazz explosions at the bottom of the ocean. It’s a wild ride that has enough twists and turns to allow for listeners to find something new each listen. Here’s to hoping we can see them use this album as a jumping off point for a live show sometime soon.

Listen to and purchase the album below from the duo’s bandcamp page.