SWEARS are an alternative rock band, hailing from Middlesbrough, with grunge and punk being at the forefront of their sound . Formed in 2017, the band consists of Joel Clayton, Cypriot brothers George and Stephanos Louca, and Tom Gingell. After a flurry of singles since coming together, they have just released their debut EP Seersucker. Despite being just four tracks, the EP deals with issues such as depression, climate change and “the end of the world” as well as existential frustration and anger towards divisive elements of society, struggles with addiction and toxic relationships, and the nature of God, religion and the human condition. Phew!
Kicking the four tracks off is ‘Warm to the Touch’, a song that roars through the difficulties faced by climate change – it’s a fast paced, doom laden take on where the world is heading and is a powerful beginning. Grunge laden rock is alive and well on this track.
Following on, ‘Say Nothing‘ hurtles through three minutes raging at society and the world at large with a raw, unmoulded sound that shows the punk influence of the band. The dark moodiness is offset against the Axl Rose like screeches and takes the edge off the somewhat misanthropic feel. It’s a perfectly judged balance.
As the EP moves into the final two tracks, the moodiness and darkness become deeper, not least when charting the waters of toxic relationships with lyrics like
tell me that you feel me / say you wanna heal me / tell me that you need me
from ‘Catacombs‘, a very evocative name for a song about toxicity and relationships that never seem to end. Ending with ‘Brain Dead‘, Seersucker‘s last windmill to tilt at is religion and dogmatic belief. It’s a fitting conclusion to a group of protest songs.
The bands’s advice to aspiring musicians might seem more apt for pre-Covid-19 times but can be adapted to online gigs – everyone’s doing it!. They say:
Start playing live as early as possible, as you’ll grow in confidence and develop your sound.
Seersucker was released on May 22. Get your copy here.
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