Swan Wash

Reviews

Swan Wash Shadow Shadow LP

This first full-length by Bloominton, Indiana band SWAN WASH is dense: gothic moments intermixed with alternative rock from the ’90s, with heavy emphasis on things like L7, the GITS, and BABES IN TOYLAND. When you realize SWAN WASH is a three-piece, you’ll be amazed at the wall of noisy sound they’re capable of producing, with moments as thick as the MELVINS. The nine tracks on this album feature a lot of variance in rhythm and instrumentation, but all somehow come out in harmony. If you’re into dark-toned rock music that edges into a lot of underground sounds, then check this out now.

Swan Wash The Upstairs Museum cassette

A trio from Bloomington, IN with a controlled, focused deathrock approach. Two punk-length tracks with picked guitar lines and urgent WIRE-esque vocal approach, followed by a colder, lengthier conclusion that moves from the third to the first person. Icy soundscapes compliment the static urban decay musings, lending more to this experience than what’s just on the surface. Would fit well among the early 4AD roster rather than with reverb or distortion-drenched crust-gone-goth thing that feels pretty overdone at this point.

Swan Wash Swan Wash cassette

Brooding goth with an underlying ferocity that exposes punk roots—at least I hope that’s what I’m hearing. If you deconstruct, some of the tracks tweak components of outlying commercial genres and present them as Faith or Juju-derived darkness, and it totally works. If simple, stripped-down, murky dirges with Pearl Thompson guitar melodies floating in the aether are your cup of chamomile, then Indiana’s SWAN WASH have got you in their sights.