The Swear
Atlanta, Georgia, United States | INDIE
Music
Press
"A top music pick of the day. The songs stand on a concise but attitude-driven riff-rock foundation, singer Elizabeth Elkins offering a sliver of Distillers snarl doused in a bucket of '80s-prog vibrato." - The (Nashville) Tennessean
"Elizabeth Elkins is a good singer - tough, assertive, expressive. 'Vampire' is a sort of speeded-up-girl-doing-Geddy-Lee-prog-punk, hence reminding me of old Boston art-core pinkos the Proletariat albeit more melodically. 'Shuttered Off Christine' is forboding but banging. The Swear's music is not especially joyful, to my ears. Odd thing is, I kind of like it anyway. - Rhapsody.com
"One of the Top 25 albums of the year. Solid, scorching and sensual. So much power and ferocity…there’s more emotion on this collection than a half-dozen major label releases from new, inferior bands. A breathless and mournful good time. Some of the most literate rock ever produced in Atlanta. [The songs are] verbose, contemporary epics that could easily double as provocative, stand-alone poetry." - Lee Valentine Smith/Georgia Music Magazine
"One of the Top 17 releases by a Georgia artist this year. A combustible presence." - Creative Loafing
"Elizabeth Elkins rocks, and she's got a band that does, too. She's also a talented singer and songwriter. On The Swear's debut, Every Trick's A Good One, memorable guitar riffs and a thundering rhythm section careen behind her forceful vocals. The songs paint vivid portraits of envy, jealousy and the things we do for love and lust." - Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Singer/guitarist Elizabeth Elkins nails down her tough-girl stance like a 21st-century Suzi Quatro; her slightly frayed delivery lends an extra note of authenticity to the memorable chorus of 'The Sleep Inside,' which favorably recalls Liz Phair's accessibly edgy moments. Guitarist Jeremy Zamora confidently peels off sharp, catchy riffs, offsetting the radio-friendly polish of 'Last Breath'." - The Sunday Paper
"[The Swear]'s ballsy debut album hits with a mega-ton blast of guitar, drums, and Elizabeth Elkins' razor-edged vocals...Rough, demanding and alternately soothing and antagonistic, Elkins’ breathy growl winds its way through the album’s six angst-filled songs. If her voice leads the way, though, the band clearly lays the path with soaring guitar riffs and relentless high-energy drumming. The Swear is unapologetically rock and roll, and Every Trick’s A Good One is their declaration of such." - Performer Magazine
"Catchy, angular garage rock. The six-song collection is an unflinching look at the world through Elkins’ twisted and dark, yet highly literate lyric imagery. The Swear’s domain is an unsettling zoo where each wild turn of phrase is skillfully mated to guitarist and co-writer Jeremy Zamora’s potent and raging riffs. The rhythm section seals the package of wrath, an aggressively gothy pop concoction that’s both Guitar Center skillful and raggedly rabid." - Flagpole
"It's dark, it's real and it hits home. Elizabeth Elkins is a top songwriter on the verge of big things." - Lollapalooza promoter Kip Schaumloffel
"Sometimes ya just dig a good pop song where the guitarists are punching and jabbing through the melody and groove in a way that truly lifts things up. In this regard, Elizabeth Elkins and Jeremy Zamora are rock warriors with total command of meaty riffs, feedback swells, dynamics, and churning, crunching chords." - Guitar Player
Discography
"Gold and Hymns and Hell" singles
"Hotel Rooms and Heart Attacks" LP
"Every Trick's A Good One" EP
Photos
Bio
The Swear is an Atlanta-based rock band led by award-winning songwriter Elizabeth Elkins. Driven by a punk work ethic, the band has played hundreds of shows across the United States since its beginnings in 2005, and has released two records. The band's songs have been on many television shows, including Smallville, Rescue Me and Jersey Shore.
In 2013, the band is releasing "Gold and Hymns and Hell", three maxi-singles. The self-produced set of songs is raw and aggressive - and recorded mostly live - tying the group even closer to its punk roots. With titles like "Pornography on Avenue A" and "Sex and the Drugs", the songs make no attempt at pop perfection. Elkins is at her sneering best with a nothing-to-lose bravado from the boys behind her.
The Swear's songs ring with catchy melodies and Southern gothic themes. Mixing influences from Courtney Love to Morrissey, Alkaline Trio to Muse, the band creates dark power-pop songs that read like great literature. Brooklyn’s Resonator Magazine said, “theirs is one of the greatest rock records released by an Atlanta band. It’s an album of death and passion, full of ringing violence and gorgeous melodies. It’s edgy rawness balanced by pop perfection from a band that should be considered rock's new great hope."
Warped Tour veterans The Swear have also played BMI showcases in Nashville and Los Angeles, and have showcased at CMJ, Chicago's Mobfest, Austin's RedGorilla, Texas Rockfest and SXSW (where Elizabeth, a Grand Prize winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest, was a part of the Billboard/BMI brunch).
The band's EP "Every Trick's A Good One" (produced by Russ-T Cobb; mastered by Howie Weinberg) and LP "Hotel Rooms and Heart Attacks" (produced by Matt Goldman, Ted Niceley and Jeff Tomei; mixed by Eli Janney and mastered by Howie Weinberg) are available on iTunes worldwide.
We have had some good things happen to us so far: "Deadfall" was featured in a Converse Shoes commercial; we were finalists in the Rolling Stone/Ray-Ban Never Hide contest; we made the finals of the Discmakers Independent Music World Series two years in a row; we made the Atlanta finals of Hard Rock Calling; we won the Ernie Ball Battle of the Bands 7; we've been featured in Guitar Player, The Sunday Paper’s Atlanta It List and Creative Loafing’s Best of Atlanta (twice!) and, back when radio mattered, our songs were some of the highest charting unsigned singles on commercial specialty show playlists.
The Swear songs on television and in the movies: Smallville (The CW), Rescue Me (FX), Switched at Birth (ABC Family), Beyond the Break (The N), Roswell (The WB), Reunion (FOX), Life As We Know It (ABC), Wanted (TNT), Outward Bound (The Discovery Channel), Tool Academy and Sex Rehab with Dr. Drew (VH1), 16 & Pregnant, Jersey Shore, The Real World, Made, Real World/Road Rules Challenge, Valemont, Cribs, Teen Cribs, Parental Control, True Life, Bromance, Disaster Date, Ten on Top, The Seven and My Super Sweet 16 (MTV), A Decade of Cribs (MTV2), Atlanta Tonight (UPN), Tr3s, CNN, YouTube's Lonelygirl15 and Comcast On Demand. Films: Surreal (New York International Independent Film & Video Festival), The Delivery Boy Chronicles, Cross Country and By Chance.
The Swear is proud to be a part of the artist family at Gibson Guitars, Gretsch Guitars, GHS Strings, Marshall Amps, George L's Cables, Bareknuckle Pick-ups, Pedaltrain, Ampeg and InTune Guitar Picks.
From the press:
"Sometimes you just dig a good pop song where the guitarists are punching and jabbing through the melody and groove in a way that truly lifts things up. In this regard, Elizabeth Elkins and Jeremy Zamora are rock warriors with total command of meaty riffs, feedback swells, dynamics, and churning, crunching chords."-Guitar Player
"Elkins leads The Swear with a thundering certainty."-Paste Magazine
"The Swear is terrific. Memorable guitar riffs and a thundering rhythm section careen behind Elkins' vocals. The songs paint vivid portraits of envy, jealousy and the things we do for love and lust."
-The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
"Hotel Rooms is one of the greatest rock records released by an Atlanta band. An album of death and passion, full of ringing violence and gorgeous melodies. The Swear write dark power-pop songs that read like great literature. Edgy rawness balanced by pop perfection from a band that should be considered rock's new great hope."-Resonator Magazine
"Elkins is tough, assertive, expressive. 'Vampire' is a sort of speeded-up-girl-doing-Geddy-Lee-prog-punk. 'Shuttered Off Christine' is forboding but banging. The Swear's music is not especially joyful, to my ears. Odd thing is, I like it anyway." -Chuck Eddy, Rolling Stone
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