# Sweeping Promises
**Sweeping Promises** is an American post-punk duo of vocalist and bassist Lira Mondal and guitarist, drummer, and producer Caufield Schnug, formed in Boston in October 2019 and now based in [Lawrence, Kansas](https://www.edgepedia.org/lawrence-kansas).[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) • [2](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/sweeping-promises-good-living-is-coming-for-you-interview/) Their records have been released by Feel It Records and, since 2021, jointly by Feel It and [Sub Pop](https://www.edgepedia.org/sub-pop).[3](https://www.subpop.com/releases/sweeping_promises/good_living_is_coming_for_you)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Members | Lira Mondal (vocals, bass) and Caufield Schnug (guitar, drums, and production); touring drummer Spenser Gralla[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) • [4](https://www.subpop.com/news/2026/08/14/sweeping_promises_you_say_i_romanticize_is_out_now) |
| Formed | October 2019, Boston; Mondal and Schnug met around 2008 as students at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/sweeping-promises-good-living-is-coming-for-you-interview/) • [5](https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2026-09-06/sweeping-promises-lawrence-kansas-band) |
| Albums | Hunger for a Way Out (2020, Feel It), Good Living Is Coming for You (2023, Sub Pop), You Say I Romanticize (August 14, 2026, Sub Pop)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) • [4](https://www.subpop.com/news/2026/08/14/sweeping_promises_you_say_i_romanticize_is_out_now) |
| Labels | Feel It Records (Cincinnati) from 2020; Feel It (North America) and Sub Pop (elsewhere) jointly from the 2021 single "Pain Without a Touch"[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) • [3](https://www.subpop.com/releases/sweeping_promises/good_living_is_coming_for_you) |
| Recording method | Debut cut live with a single microphone in a converted laboratory; later records made in a Lawrence studio with natural reverb and, for the third album, an 18-month chamber-recording process[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) • [3](https://www.subpop.com/releases/sweeping_promises/good_living_is_coming_for_you) • [4](https://www.subpop.com/news/2026/08/14/sweeping_promises_you_say_i_romanticize_is_out_now) |
| Style | Art-punk in the lineage of Pylon, Kleenex/LiLiPUT, and Devo; concept-forward songwriting[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) • [6](https://sweepingpromises.bandcamp.com/album/you-say-i-romanticize?action=buy) |
## History and formation
Mondal and Schnug met as students at Hendrix College in [Conway, Arkansas](https://www.edgepedia.org/conway-arkansas), where Schnug gave Mondal bass lessons; KCUR dates the meeting to about 18 years before 2026.[5](https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2026-09-06/sweeping-promises-lawrence-kansas-band) Before founding the duo they played together in several bands: Silkies (surf punk), Dee-Parts (goth rock), and Mini Dresses (dream pop).[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/sweeping-promises-good-living-is-coming-for-you-interview/) They established Sweeping Promises in October 2019 while living in Boston.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/sweeping-promises-good-living-is-coming-for-you-interview/)
**Pandemic and relocation.** Written before the pandemic, the debut album Hunger for a Way Out was released on Feel It Records in the summer of 2020.[3](https://www.subpop.com/releases/sweeping_promises/good_living_is_coming_for_you) During the pandemic the duo lost their jobs and moved temporarily to the Schnug family home in [Austin, Texas](https://www.edgepedia.org/austin-texas), where they recorded the November 2021 single "Pain Without a Touch" at Estuary Recording and in the family bathroom.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) After signing to Sub Pop in 2021, they used their advance to buy a ranch-style house in Lawrence, Kansas, chosen after looking at 10 houses in two days; it contained a converted former nude-painting studio they selected for its natural reverb.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/sweeping-promises-good-living-is-coming-for-you-interview/) The couple told the label upfront that they wanted full creative control and would continue their partnership with Feel It Records.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/sweeping-promises-good-living-is-coming-for-you-interview/)
## Members and roles
Mondal sings lead and plays bass; Schnug plays guitar and drums and handles production.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) On Good Living Is Coming for You, Mondal's vocal harmonies evoke Blondie and the B-52's.[2](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/sweeping-promises-good-living-is-coming-for-you-interview/) Because the recorded material is made by two people, the band brought in touring drummer Spenser Gralla to play the songs as they would on stage.[4](https://www.subpop.com/news/2026/08/14/sweeping_promises_you_say_i_romanticize_is_out_now) Schnug has also produced other acts, including 2W33DY, Virga, Optic Sink, and Spread Joy.[5](https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2026-09-06/sweeping-promises-lawrence-kansas-band)
## Musical style and recording approach
AllMusic situates the band in a tradition of noise, melody, and politically charged lyrics continuing that of Pylon, Kleenex/LiLiPUT, and Devo.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) The band's own Bandcamp page calls them progenitors of concept-forward art-punk.[6](https://sweepingpromises.bandcamp.com/album/you-say-i-romanticize?action=buy)
**Recording setups.** The debut was recorded in late 2019 and early 2020 in a cavernous converted laboratory with a single microphone.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) For the second album the duo replaced that approach with the retired nude-painting studio in Lawrence, bathed in light, with high ceilings and hardwood floors providing natural reverb.[3](https://www.subpop.com/releases/sweeping_promises/good_living_is_coming_for_you) The third album was recorded over an 18-month period in the duo's combination tour house and studio in Kansas, using an idiosyncratic chamber-recording method aimed at an intentional wall of sound (dense, layered production style saturating the mix).[4](https://www.subpop.com/news/2026/08/14/sweeping_promises_you_say_i_romanticize_is_out_now) The Lawrence house doubles as a rotating tour house for indie and punk bands, and the studio annually works on dozens of albums by other bands.[5](https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2026-09-06/sweeping-promises-lawrence-kansas-band) • [4](https://www.subpop.com/news/2026/08/14/sweeping_promises_you_say_i_romanticize_is_out_now)
## Discography
- **Hunger for a Way Out** (Feel It Records, August 2020)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993)
- **"Pain Without a Touch"** single (Feel It/Sub Pop, November 2021), the first joint release[3](https://www.subpop.com/releases/sweeping_promises/good_living_is_coming_for_you) • [1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993)
- **Good Living Is Coming for You** (Sub Pop, June 2023)[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993)
- **You Say I Romanticize** (Sub Pop, August 14, 2026), preceded by the singles "Accent," "Cocoon," "Shooting Shadows," and "Rapture, Or…"[4](https://www.subpop.com/news/2026/08/14/sweeping_promises_you_say_i_romanticize_is_out_now)
## Reception and critical standing
Hunger for a Way Out became a word-of-mouth indie success after its August 2020 release.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) Pitchfork frames the first two records as airtight art-punk evoking [Stiff Records](https://www.edgepedia.org/stiff-records)' heyday and compares the duo to arty Ramones contemporaries such as Kleenex and the B-52s.[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sweeping-promises-you-say-i-romanticize/) Of the third album, Pitchfork writes that the duo set out to build their own garage-rock wall of sound, retaining crunchy singalong guitar melodies, relatively simple instrumentation, and a lo-fi fuzz that seems to occupy an entire channel of its own, while broadening scale over durable songwriting.[7](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sweeping-promises-you-say-i-romanticize/)
## Lyrical themes and songwriting
Good Living Is Coming for You paired raw sonics with commentary on consumption, aging, and self-destructive tendencies.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) You Say I Romanticize was inspired by the works of [Mary Shelley](https://www.edgepedia.org/mary-shelley) and the 15th-century author [Julian of Norwich](https://www.edgepedia.org/julian-of-norwich), and brought the duo's furious live attack into the studio.[1](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993) Its title comes from a line in the closing song "Write Lightly," which follows a writer racing a deadline set by a tyrannical editor; the record is full of characters imagined by the couple, and is largely about personalities boxed in by isolation while carried by soaring energy.[5](https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2026-09-06/sweeping-promises-lawrence-kansas-band) • [6](https://sweepingpromises.bandcamp.com/album/you-say-i-romanticize?action=buy)
## What has changed since 2023
You Say I Romanticize was released on CD, LP, and digital formats worldwide on Sub Pop on August 14, 2026, described as a tribute to the chaos of creation and collaboration under shifting circumstances.[4](https://www.subpop.com/news/2026/08/14/sweeping_promises_you_say_i_romanticize_is_out_now) Joined by Gralla, the band began a nationwide tour on September 9, 2026, including a September 29 stop at the White Schoolhouse in Lawrence.[5](https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2026-09-06/sweeping-promises-lawrence-kansas-band)
## References
1. [Sweeping Promises — Biography, Discography, Albums & Expert Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sweeping-promises-mn0003969993)
2. [Sweeping Promises Make a Punk Home in the Heartland, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/features/rising/sweeping-promises-good-living-is-coming-for-you-interview/)
3. [Good Living Is Coming For You, Sub Pop release page](https://www.subpop.com/releases/sweeping_promises/good_living_is_coming_for_you)
4. [Sweeping Promises You Say I Romanticize Is Out Now, Sub Pop news](https://www.subpop.com/news/2026/08/14/sweeping_promises_you_say_i_romanticize_is_out_now)
5. [Lawrence post-punk band Sweeping Promises embrace 'romanticizing' on new album, KCUR](https://www.kcur.org/podcast/up-to-date/2026-09-06/sweeping-promises-lawrence-kansas-band)
6. [You Say I Romanticize, Sweeping Promises, Bandcamp](https://sweepingpromises.bandcamp.com/album/you-say-i-romanticize?action=buy)
7. [Sweeping Promises: You Say I Romanticize Album Review, Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/sweeping-promises-you-say-i-romanticize/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Musical duos, supergroups, and collaborative projects › Pop and rock duos › Rock and indie duos*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license