Swords
Been idyll for the last few days because I am in the process of moving to my new digs a few miles down the road. Moving crate after crate of records takes its toll on you, but what a surprise waiting for me in my mailbox today, the final day in my apartment of four years. A mix of fear and melancholy along with promise and optimism fills me as I sit in a near empty room, a few days before this place that has been so good to me turns to memory. I can't think of a better soundtrack for this transition than Metropolis, the newest record from Swords formerly The Swords Project, one of my favorite post-rock ensembles and a band that any fan of orchestral, challenging rock music would be remiss for passing up. Insound does a great job of describing Swords as music "for fans of Death Cab For Cutie, DJ Shadow, Pinback, and King Crimson." And I couldn't agree more. There's electronics peppered within prog moments; thick Sonic Youth-style guitar sludge hidden under classic REM guitar melody. Their newest album (although I have only given it a quick listen) is shaping up to be their best and I think "The Mark" captures all the spatial and experimental qualities that "mark" truly memorable left-field pop classics. Dropping the "Project" suffix was a sensible move because Metropolis marks a good band crystalizing into a potentially great one. This is certainly much more resonant and engaging than the word project connotes. Update: Seems like a motherlode of varied stuff has found its way to the scissorkick queue. Look out in the coming days for new tracks from American Analog Set, ADULT., Kudu, Cities of Foam, Foscil and a track or two from the new comp released by Flameboy Records (ex-Red Snapper). Resources
Swords :: "The Mark"
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