Swansaw

About a year and a half ago, I reviewed a collection of B-Sides by an artist known as Ryan Farish, whom I panned rather thoroughly. Although Farish’s music was marred by numerous technical problems (unoriginality, blandness, etc.), the far more serious issue was insincerity, which was present on a truly grandiose level. It was plainly obvious that Farish’s faux-new-age-and-world stylings were an attempt to capitalize on the worst stereotypes of what he thought people would probably want to hear, rather than an honest expression of his soul. In retrospect, it is not at all surprising that Farish composes music for the Weather Channel.

Today’s album, however, is of a markedly different approach. That is to say, where Farish’s album gave us “emotion like a marionette: limp and devoid of feeling, yet manipulated to create a false impression of life,” Swansaw’s Flight and Falling drips sincerity out of every pore. As near as I can tell, Swansaw is a fairly young band, and accordingly they display a youthful exuberance that is delightfully refreshing. But how far can honesty carry you? Is it enough to care about your music with every fiber of your being, or is more required? Unfortunately, as all too many high school bands have discovered, it is not, but it is a nice start.

Which is not to say that this is a terrible album; far from it, as the score assigned indicates (remember, six and above indicates a record that is “good”). The problem is that Swansaw are not terribly creative, and their songs often head towards repetitiveness, even before they end. Although they list many of the post-rock stalwarts (Explosions in the Sky, Ef, etc.) as their influences, they also make mention of Led Zeppelin, and their general sound is more similar to standard rock, albeit with a trend towards the instrumental and occasionally even the atmospheric.

They aren’t entirely instrumental, however, and their vocalist Josh (the band only gives first names) is really to be praised for his work on Flight and Falling. In “havenot”, the second track, Josh delivers an energetic and powerful performance that reminds me of all the good aspects of early Against Me! songs - on the chorus of “We Laugh at Danger (and Break All the Rules)” in particular. His vocals are front and center, and when the song switches gears from ambient to rockin’ and Josh begins wailing away, the absolute passion and sincerity which Swansaw pour into their music becomes quite palpable. Elsewhere, such as in “whispering,” the vocals are buried into the mix and presented in a shoegazey style that works quite well with the music. These are two rather different styles of singing, and it speaks quite well for Josh that he is able to pull off both of them, as well as for the production, that it is able to support him so ably.

Structurally, the band still has some issues to work through. The aforementioned “havenot” features a brilliant first half, and for just over four and a half minutes the song chugs along quite nicely. However, there’s still another five minutes to go, and here Swansaw missteps. They switch into a quiet interlude which does not quite manage to hold the listener’s attention. Although going from a loud section to a long quiet portion is a standard trick of the trade in instrumental music—I think Godspeed You! Black Emperor might have done that once or twice—Swansaw doesn’t really capitalize on the rest they offer the listener here, and when the begin building it back up two minutes later, they never manage to eclipse the first half, and we begin to wonder why we bothered to keep listening after the 4:30 mark.

Flight and Falling is far too inconsistent to be considered a “great” album. But there are certain shining moments on display here, which make me think that, with a little retooling, Swansaw could yet hit that mark. Unfortunately, that very same sincerity that makes their music such a joy to listen to in its current stage could perhaps be holding them back, by not allowing Swansaw to critically engage with its own music. After all, its hard to be objective with things you love, and it is clear that Swansaw loves its music like a child. I would bet that this band is great in a live setting, but to really shine in a recorded format, Swansaw will probably need to try to distance itself from its music, at least a little bit. Issues of structure should be paid particular attention. However, when their music really hits its stride, such as in the first half of “havenot”, in the latter half of “abraham’s ashes”, or in many places throughout the two-song suite of “the math” and “the aftermath”, Swansaw imbues the listener with a sense of absolute glee as the screaming guitars and pounding drums wash over them. Wherever Swansaw goes from here, I would wish that they always retain that element of their music.

-Tom Butcher - www.thesilentballet.com