Swift Ships
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Swift Ships

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"A Recent Favorite"


What's your favorite album by a NYC artist you have mastered?

Right now my favorite is a record by a band called Swift Ships. It was recorded by Marc Ospovat in his studio in Brooklyn. The guitar sounds are a little aggressive at times, but the record has great energy and the lyrics are the best I’ve heard in a while. It reminds me of that Jeffrey Lee Pierce / Gun Club sound. - the deli magazine


"70's and 80's rock . . ."

". . . 70's and 80's rock sound should gain some nice responses on College Radio Stations." - The Music Review


"Swift or slow, this is one ship worth a visit if it docks in a port near you."

This New York-based band is made up of last-name-less members: Ken: lead and background vocals, rhythm acoustic and bass guitar, Marshall: electric, rhythm, acoustic and bass guitar, backing vocals and keyboards, and Memphis: drums, percussion and back vocals. "Wedding Day"'s deliciously warped and all the more unconventional thanks to Ken's voice: a combination of comfy plush slippers and no. 4 (okay, maybe no.6) sandpaper, cozy and gritty all at the same time. There's some especially tasty fret work here too. "Gunslinger", the second track, also showcases some excellent musicianship, with more than a taste-test sampling of the bygone psychedelic era's warblings. Vocals here too are equally appealing: think the Fray's Isaac Slade (post elocution lessons) and Supernova frontman Lucas Rossi and his trademark personal and guttural bravado.
Swift Ships enters calmer seas with the hypnotic staccato lyrics and gear and mood-changing melody of "Miss Susan". It's short and sweet and a welcome change of pace from the previous in-your-face, hey-look-at-me-NOW tracks. For an instrumental showcase, "Nice Guy" is your man. It does open with lyrics but it's likely the instrumentals you'll remember from this subtle yet undeniably invigorating track. Same could be said of the picking on "Tell it to the preacher." Swift Ships charts a darker, quietly sadder, more vulnerable course with "Hopeless Kid". Lyrically, this one reflects the challenging but all- too-common realities of abuse: "I didn't want to be no one's stepson…All the vengeance in the world is a drop in the cup. When you thirst for your own life to be through". Yet musically, with its emotional swells and dramatic chord changes "Hopeless Kid" is tinged with optimism, determination and yes, maybe even hope. No small feat to tackle let alone accomplish in just one track. Swift or slow, this is one ship worth a visit if it docks in a port near you. - Rocknworld


Discography

Rebel Renaissance - full-length LP.

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Swift Ships is the creative partnership of composer/arranger/guitarist Scott Loving (a.k.a. Marshall) and lyricist/vocalist Ben Shanaberger (Ken). Docked in the New York Islands, these Virginia boys create dance jams and rock ballads about misspent youth, southern romance, and criminal behavior. With the help of multi-instrumentalist/drummer Brent Cole (Memphis) and the influence of songwriters like the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Ric Ocasek, and Guns N' Roses, we attempt to use the classic sounds of 70's and 80's rock, country, and pop to tell our story.

Recorded in 2006 with Mark Ospovat at Emandee in Brooklyn, "Rebel Renaissance" is our full-length debut. An electric guitar-based concept album, it is a swaggering rock and roll western documenting the life and travels of a modern American loser. Ever-present in the lyrics and music are his desensitized and wayward heart and his common penchant for sarcasm and self-destruction. Sweltering guitar solos abound, the drums 'pop' and sit high in the mix, and the baritone vocals range from a resigned whisper to a screaming growl.

We're stepping out live in 2007 to spread the Swift Ships sound and support the release of "Rebel Renaissance." We've put together a high energy show and are proud to have debuted our new set with our new and very dope bass player Pat Lefrancois at Cake Shop on Manhattan's Lower East Side January 9th to a fantastic crowd with a great response. Our Spring tour will commence in mid-March and will wind its way from Texas back to New York from March 19 through mid-April. Check back in the following weeks for tour dates and locations as the calendar fills in.