Meet Swansea Sound

Swansea Sound might never have happened if it weren’t for lockdown. It is our new band with Huw from the Pooh Sticks. Amelia used to sing with them, and they were one of Robs favourite bands. We had a feeling that Huw, like us, would be sitting around at home wondering what to do with himself. So we sent him some songs that we felt might suit his voice and suddenly we had a new band on our hands.

Huw recorded the vocals into a phone in a cupboard in his house in Wales, we did the guitars here, and Ian Button (of the Catenary Wires) developed an amazing way of playing drums using his fingers on his laptop at his home. It felt like pure indie we recorded it all ourselves, we didn’t use proper studios, we didn’t need anyone’s money and it was fun. Huws mate Ant runs a cassette label (Lavender Sweep, in Swansea) and agreed to put out the first single. It sold out in a few hours. It got on the radio. It was real! It felt like we were re-connecting with the spirit of punk and proper indie music: DIY and anti-corporate. We made a video too, using Robs phone as a camera and Amelia’s laptop for editing.

Swansea Sound Share Debut Single

A few weeks ago when I got to chat with European Sun, Rob informed me that he and Amelia were working on a new project with Hue from Pooh Sticks named Swansea Sound. Well, they’ve unleashed their first 2 track single into the world, and I wanted to make sure that these two tunes were on your listening rotation before this week gets carried away. Despite the trio’s penchant for melody, there’s a slightly heavier feel to Swansea Sound; the riffs have less jangle and a harder edge, giving a little bit of attitude to these tunes. “Corporate Indie Band” has this big pop rock feel to it, while the trio seem to mock the formulaic style of modern rock n’ roll. With “Angry Girl,” you almost get a punchier Britpop feel, though I was particularly infatuated with the little shift around the 1:23 mark. If you dig it, there’s a limited edition cassette courtesy of Lavender Sweep!