The Swallows

Music:

Member Since: 3/9/2006
Band Website: theswallows.ca
Band Members: * Glenn Milchem * John Borra * Andrew Innanen * Jonny James *
Influences: Glenn likes ( in no particular order): The Buzzcocks, Neil Michael Hagerty, The Howling Hex, Royal Trux, Captain Beefheart, Television, Blonde Redhead, Chad Van Gaalen, The Ramones, The Only Ones, Rashied Ali, Sonny Sharrock, Ornette Coleman, Milford Graves, Albert Ayler, John Coltrane, Eric Dolphy, The Birthday Party, Nick Cave, P.J. Harvey, Scientist, King Tubby, Augustus Pablo, Lee Perry, Noel Ellis, Liars, Public Image Ltd., Bird Show, The Fall, Gang of Four, Panda Bear, Gun Club, Broken Social Scene, The Clash, Rocket From The Tombs, Alice Cooper, MC5, The Stooges, Prince, M.I.A., Lady Sovereign, Charlie Mingus, Fela Kuti, Tony Allen, Mudhoney, Weird War, Erik Satie, Black Dice, The Modern Lovers, The Grateful Dead, Glenn Branca, Earth, John Fahey, Brian Wilson, Eric Cheneaux,Wrist Error, Richard Youngs, Starvin' Hungry, Bob Dylan, Wolf Parade, Holy Fuck, John Cage, David Tudor, James Tenney, Alvin Lucier, Sonic Youth, Sparklehorse, James Brown, Lightning Bolt, Howlin' Wolf, Motorhead, Sebadoh, Pavement, Slayer, Nick Drake, Kraftwerk, Can, Neu, Comets On Fire, High On Fire, Joy Division, The Slits, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Six Organs of Admittance, Devendra Banhart, Sun Ra, Magazine, E.S.G., Band of Horses, The Remains of Brian Borcherdt, Black Mountain, Gastr Del Sol, David Grubbs, Jim O'Rourke, Faust, Tony Conrad, The Velvet Underground, Nico, Lee Hazelwood, Battles, Lightnin' Hopkins, The Jesus Lizard, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, The Dirtbombs, The Detroit Cobras, Miles Davis, The Melvins, Steve Reich, John Oswald, Drive Like Jehu, Hot Snakes, The Byrds, Clarence White, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams, Wilco, Johnny Cash, Blue Rodeo, Magnolia Electric Company, Talking Heads, The Congoes, Animal Collective, Public Enemy, Neko Case, De La Soul, Varese, Stravinsky,Pauline Oliveros, Elvis Costello, The White Stripes, Cat Power, Broadcast, Smog, John Lee Hooker, Robert Johnson, Caribou, Iron & Wine, Noel Ellis, Morton Feldman, AC/DC, The Streets, Brian Eno, Boredoms, William Parker, The Replacements, Dinosaur Jr., My Bloody Valentine, The Flaming Lips, Neil Young, Billie Holiday...
Sounds Like: Here's what some reviewers say about "Awkward Situation": "...It's precisely (and passionately) executed, without ever sounding derivative or over-thought-about. A winning effort." - EYE MAGAZINE(4 stars) "You're having a bad week, and that's Glenn Milchem at the end of the bar with a light. "Might as well keep shining on," sings Milchem, the Blue Rodeo drummer who heads the side-project Swallows. "Might as well be glorious." Jerrry Garcia couldn't have put it better. Lead track Glorious is jammy, but the rest of the splendid, light-and-dark themed record is marked by power pop and blade-sharp lyrics, with some new wave and Police thrown in. Hear Vicariously, which imagines a chance meeting between Luke Doucet and Coldplay. Hear the Crazy horse of Soft Bomb, in which Milchem flickers as things continue to crash down. Hear it all." - THE GLOBE AND MAIL(3 and a half out of 4 stars) "...Most notable is the guitar work. Milchem and Jonny James have clearly taken pride in the axe-manship. The plethora of well-planned solos and fast-fingered rhythm guitar is reason enough to listen." - NOW MAGAZINE(3 stars)"Yet another reason not to underestimate your drummer, Glenn Milchem of Blue Rodeo and occasional Holy F--- infamy comes back crustier and crunchier than ever on the third release from his fine solo outlet, the Swallows. Left to his own devices, Milchem isn’t so much about the roots-rock that earns him a living, although he and the current crop of Swallows – guitarist Jonny James, bassist John Borra and ex-C’mon drummer Randy Curnew – do engage in a patch of Crazy Horse-ish rambling on “Soft Bomb.” Generally, Awkward Situation is unpretentious, ramshackle geetar-pop of a reliably high standard. “Shadow” recalls Bob Mould or the Pixies as channeled by Kurt. “Penny” is terse nerd-punk of the sort you’d expect from a country where one can grow up listening to April Wine and Max Webster alongside Wire and the Buzzcocks. The comparatively dainty “Out of the Way,” meanwhile, is a more rustic approximation of New Order’s cascading Manchester melancholy. It all sounds like musicians revelling in the pure joy of playing loud rock’n’roll, but Awkward Situation is full of slow-seeping melodies and sage lyrics - “It’s so hard to be naked / Everybody needs a human shield,” from “Human Shield,” is one of the more affecting choruses in recent memory – that creep up on you over time and then bowl you over completely on the right occasion. Progressively more appealing and always more than it first seemed." - THE TORONTO STAR(3 stars out of 4)"...Once they get in, it's tricky to get rid of infectious songs like "Glorious" and "Penny", with their irresistible combination of sunny guitar licks and driving drums... Whatever their influences, The Swallows' unapologetic rock leanings give the inspired Awkward Situation an unbridled punch." - EXCLAIM
Record Label: Magnetic Angel Recordings
Type of Label: Indie