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The Swayback
Forewarned
What Are Records | Grade: A-
Coming out of Denver (a city with nearly no music scene), the Swayback is a scene unto itself. The band loves to spike its ’60s-style guitar rave-ups with ’70s stoner rock and ’80s Brit pop - and just to round out the decade-hopping, the guys added the dark, ’50s bluesy ballad “Down to the Tracks” and the industrial, ’90s-flavored “Forewarned” remix. - Boston Herald
"Watching Eric Halborg, bassist and vocalist, front his band is like watching a lion preen after the kill. He's both sedate and wild, or perhaps he just seems sedate because you can see from the passion with which he plays that he has it in him to take down a gazelle at full speed." - Denver Post
"Merging the dark, spacious atmosphere of Joy Division with psychedelic fuzz and Detroit-derived noise, Denver's Swayback find an uncommon middle ground between moody post-punk and anarchic proto-punk. The Swayback has a pretty sharp formula on its hands. Dark as anything to come out of Manchesters suicidal singers minds, yet powerful enough to hold its own in a biker bar, The Swayback forges a much needed and incredibly unlikely bridge between Londons Bat Cave era Detroit Rock City." - AVERSION.COM
"The bands sound is loud and fast, raw and ferocious, but I tip my hat off to the very excellent and relatively sedate "Tisk Tisk", a haunting number of riveting beauty. The electronic beats and tremor that is singer Eric Halborgs voice lends the track unmatched darkness and affecting severity.
The noise generated by the three is captivating, its energy grabs hold of your ears. Every note lashes out with raw energy and passion and theres little room for meandering in this threesomes dark and brooding repertoire. A strong debut, The Swaybacks self titled release only hints at whats to come for the Denver trio. - AMPCAMP.COM
"The Denver trio surprised me with their dark and unique style, their closest comparison being Joy Division. The vocals span the spooky spectrum from Ian Curtis to Glenn Danzig. Yet the music tends to dance and bounce more often that either of those two groups, courtesy of drummer Martijn Bolster, without losing a sludgy, distorted feel akin to the Stooges" - PUNKNEWS.ORG
"The Swayback's psychedelic freakout conjures the Stooges driving a stake through the heart of Ink and Dagger -- with the Misfits on their knees, snorting up the powdery vampire dust. Eric Halborg's sinister howls leave puncture wounds in the gritty primordial riffs and stubbly bass lines that encase it, allowing agitated shards of feedback to seep through." - Westword
Discography
Forewarned Single (What Are Records 2006)
S/T LP (Too Bad You're Beautiful 2005)
V/A PS2 Compilation (Public Service Records)
V/A Radio 1190 Local Shakedown 2 (Alternative Tentacles)
V/A Underground Screams (Asian Man Records)
V/A Taste of Colorado (Suburban Home Records)
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Merging the dark, spacious atmosphere of Joy Division with psychedelic fuzz and Detroit-derived noise, Denver's Swayback find an uncommon middle ground between moody post-punk and anarchic proto-punk. Dark as anything to come out of Manchester's suicidal singers minds, yet powerful enough to hold its own in a biker bar, The Swayback forges a much needed and incredibly unlikely bridge between London's Bat Cave era and Detroit Rock City.
(Swayback has shared the stage with: Gang of Four. Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Louis XIV. The Von Bondies. Secret Machines. The Raveonettes. The Bronx. Dead Meadow. Comets On Fire. The Hold Steady. Mclusky. Hot Hot Heat. High On Fire. Wesley Willis. The Modey Lemon. The Detroit Cobras. Kill Me Tomorrow. The Locust)
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