Weatherday is by far the most popular output from the Swedish musician Sputnik.
Weatherday’s debut album, 2019’s “Come In,” received a lot of praise from underground music and shoegaze fans for helping revitalize emo rock music. After 2022’s collaborative EP “Weatherglow” with the South Korean shoegazer Asian Glow, a fan favorite for shoegaze fans who love when artists work together, the Weatherday project went silent, and Sputnik focused mainly on their side projects.
However, in 2025, Weatherday released singles for their sophomore effort, “Hornet Disaster,” before dropping the full album on March 19.
The album begins with the titular song, “Hornet Disaster.” The abrasive yet melodic guitar playing is mesmerizing. There are barely any lyrics, but the guitar stole the show anyway.
“Meanie” works incredibly well coming after the previous song. Sputnik’s singing of the lyric, “Don’t come any closer, I cut my nails, and sparkling water, uneasy and frail” is a highlight due to how well it meshes with the instrumental, especially the drums.
“Take Care of Yourself (Paper-Like Nests)” starts off misleadingly with a cheap-sounding indietronica-like instrumental, but it grows and flourishes into a beautiful, dynamic soundscape.
The guitar melody on “Hug” is heart-wrenchingly beautiful. Two minutes in, the bass temporarily steals the show prior to an excellent guitar solo and then depressive suicidal black metal-like vocal wailing over a wall of sound before the song collapses. This song is simultaneously disturbing and comforting by the end.
“Green Tea Seaweed Sea” seemingly has multiple parts to it. The lyric, “You know blue light isn’t real life, but you take things way too far” stood out for its commentary on the internet, which uses displays that radiate blue light which hinders sleeping.
“Blood Online” has one of the most memorable guitar riffs on the entire album. Furthermore, it explains part of the cover art, which features someone biting their hand and bleeding: “I will do that after I bite fifteen holes in my hand and sixteen more from underneath, I let the blood drip on the screen, I think it makes the words more sweet and genuinely personal.” This glorification of self-harm in the idea of bleeding on technology to make texts more personalized resonated a lot.
“Blanket,” a song about covering in a cold blanket from the attic has a hauntingly beautiful refrain: “When you’re lying I can tell, all you tell is beautiful, cause you speak in cursive, and it cuts like knives, I don’t know what’s on your mind, cause I’m not supposed to ask, when you get so quiet, I prefer the lies.” The way Sputnik sings, “and it cuts like knives” with the cascading of melody is enjoyable. The synth line is also beautiful.
“Heartbeats” is kind of a lull. It’s not as energetic as the previous songs and doesn’t have an engaging guitar lead. Furthermore, the clapping sounds sound tacky and uncomfortable.
“Cooperative Calligraphy” begins with a short sample clip of the character Sheldon Cooper from hit sitcom “The Big Bang Theory.” The lyric “Got your texts, it’s all cursive” makes one think that the protagonist is experiencing psychosis and is unable to focus on reading. It could be something else, though.
The lyric, “You made it easy to miss you,” could be indicative of a codependent relationship. There is also a reference to the hit indie dream exploration game “Yume Nikki” in the lyrics about pinching your cheek. The main character, Madotsuki, is mentally ill based on her dreams’ content and refusal to go outside her room, thus the reference.
“Heaven Smile” is such a bleak way to end the album despite the sweet-sounding name. Sonically, it sounds like a bit like witch house band Crystal Castles.
Weatherday did an incredible job with this album sonically and thematically. It feels like I was just scraping the surface. Nonetheless, this is what good art is supposed to do according to Cesar A. Cruz: disturb the comfortable and comfort the disturb.
Rating: 4.5/5