Greg Dona
02/18/06, 02:35 PM
Sw!ms defies any simple labeling process. While very much unlike the stereotypical pop-punk band, Sw!ms avoids the sound usually assigned to your run of the mill indie band as well. What they are, perhaps, is more of a cross between Mike Myers and a popular children’s television show.
Previously unacquainted with Sw!ms and any other work of group members such as An Albatross or Lewis and Clarke, the ever important first impression struck me with an incredible shocking force. Ride of the Blueberry Winter lurches forward immediately with a psychedelically frantic charge leading the listener to draw comparisons to the British swinger icon, Austin Powers. A playful tune, “Cinoff It” gives the band a strong start to their debut full-length.
Sw!ms quickly shifts directions with their second track. Reaching and groping far back in my memory banks, I struggled to grasp just what “Blood in the Lanai” triggered in my memory. Upon realization of the connection I was flabbergasted at just how I even remembered the childish show; this piece sounds like a song straight out of Lamb Chops. While not quite “This is the Song that Never Ends,” “Blood in the Lanai” presses a cute, elementarily fun beat with nurturing vocals. Muppet like voices even surface midway through the track. The parallel, however, stands only when ignoring the persistent mention of blood throughout the whole of the song.
“Lava” brings a beautiful cross of the two aforementioned tracks. It also boasts the most impressive vocal ranges on the record. Little changes until “Sara Jean” decelerates the pace of the album, but still the psychedelic/indie cross dominates the sound brought forth.
“Cinom Day” materializes immediately as the next track worthy of mention, but this time for less positive reasons. The country twang in vocal parts of the song provide not an impressive variation from the overall sound of the disc, but rather a distraction from an otherwise outstanding record. “Yub – Yub” and “Knitting and Knitting,” two outlandishly slow tracks for the fast paced band, ease their way out of the slump before finally fully recovering with “Vermillion Archer,” a song whose style reminds one of older punk rock groups such as one of the quicker Clash tracks.
It proves tirelessly difficult to put a finger on just what you think of Sw!ms’ music. One thing, however, is certain; the genre-defying group can put together some darned good music. Ride of the Blueberry Winter, it follows, must be a darned good disc.
Previously unacquainted with Sw!ms and any other work of group members such as An Albatross or Lewis and Clarke, the ever important first impression struck me with an incredible shocking force. Ride of the Blueberry Winter lurches forward immediately with a psychedelically frantic charge leading the listener to draw comparisons to the British swinger icon, Austin Powers. A playful tune, “Cinoff It” gives the band a strong start to their debut full-length.
Sw!ms quickly shifts directions with their second track. Reaching and groping far back in my memory banks, I struggled to grasp just what “Blood in the Lanai” triggered in my memory. Upon realization of the connection I was flabbergasted at just how I even remembered the childish show; this piece sounds like a song straight out of Lamb Chops. While not quite “This is the Song that Never Ends,” “Blood in the Lanai” presses a cute, elementarily fun beat with nurturing vocals. Muppet like voices even surface midway through the track. The parallel, however, stands only when ignoring the persistent mention of blood throughout the whole of the song.
“Lava” brings a beautiful cross of the two aforementioned tracks. It also boasts the most impressive vocal ranges on the record. Little changes until “Sara Jean” decelerates the pace of the album, but still the psychedelic/indie cross dominates the sound brought forth.
“Cinom Day” materializes immediately as the next track worthy of mention, but this time for less positive reasons. The country twang in vocal parts of the song provide not an impressive variation from the overall sound of the disc, but rather a distraction from an otherwise outstanding record. “Yub – Yub” and “Knitting and Knitting,” two outlandishly slow tracks for the fast paced band, ease their way out of the slump before finally fully recovering with “Vermillion Archer,” a song whose style reminds one of older punk rock groups such as one of the quicker Clash tracks.
It proves tirelessly difficult to put a finger on just what you think of Sw!ms’ music. One thing, however, is certain; the genre-defying group can put together some darned good music. Ride of the Blueberry Winter, it follows, must be a darned good disc.