http://hoagiefest.com/music.php?user=theswims&music_id=54

The Sw!ms were a sleeper hit for me, coming as a surprise buried at the bottom of a pile of stuff Brian sent my way early in 2006. Their debut Ride of the Blueberry Winter showcased their love of early ..60s organ-driven rock while also trying out every tangent their hearts desired. Overall, it was a sprawling yet exhilarating record that ended up sneaking onto my year-end list. 

In said review I rattled off a list of like-minded oddball pop bands that don’t actually sound much like the Sw!ms (like Architecture in Helsinki and the Unicorns), but I finally nailed it down. These guys sound like Apples in Stereo -- and no, I came to this realization before I saw that allmusic had figured it out first -- those know-it-all bastards! It’s so obvious now! Both bands are unabashed, Beatles-worshipping pop groups, both love vocoder/robot vocal effects (here it's “Lycopene Eloris (In the Calorie Forest)"), and I’ve seen that keyboardist from Apples wearing a cape (on Colbert's show) while Sw!ms have a song called “Descend Into My Cape.” The Sw!ms’ keyboardist Phillip Price prefers a miner’s headlamp instead. 

“Ladyfist” hits you early on with its feel-good surfy vibe, going all-in with retro-style heavy panning of organ in the left speaker and guitar in the right. “Turbo Lined Suit” perhaps best exemplifies the band’s summery vibe, with roughed-up early-era Beach Boys melodies courtesy of Brian Langan and an uptempo tom-riding beat played with that ..60s frat rock abandon. And then there’s “Pile of Features,” an instant favorite for me because they get silly with an addictive wordless vocal line sung in their patented Muppet-esque tone (see “Blood in the Lanai”), they rock a mouth-trumpet solo in the bridge and it’s all overtop a bouncy programmed beat full of faux-cabasa, the drum machine being a new element to the group’s sound found in a couple other tunes here. 

However, while perfecting their hooks, the Sw!ms have done away with many of the fringe elements of their debut. You won’t find anything as ‘emo’ as “Knitting and Knitting” here, and the departure of drummer Claire Connelly a while back has me missing that female vocal element. The band doesn't have the blinders on, though, mixing things up by diverting to some lighter acoustic tunes (closer “Center Eye,” “Celery Clothes”) and getting a bit psychedelic in the bridge of “Turbo Lined Suit,” taking things down with some (real?) sitar twanging before revving back up. “All Is Nice” opens the album with a violin and flute melody that welcomes you to the indie rock Renaissance Fair. On the other end of the spectrum, epic tune “Falconeater” shows the band rocking harder than ever before with some of the heaviest guitars they've implemented, but later stripping down to bongos and percussion, car-horn brass and fun call-and-response vocals. Flaunting heavy blues rock they merely hinted at on Blueberry’s closer “Upstate Milkmaid,” the group constructs a lengthy outro that slows then builds and builds to more than one powerful Zep-ish riff to end the song. 

Itemlord is a blast for nerds like me looking to cut loose. I must urge the Sw!ms to keep on trying wacky shit, because I worry that if they streamline their style with each record we will soon be left with predictable tunes. I don’t think I’ll have to worry about it though -- these guys play like they've got wacky in their bones. 

Here's the whats whats'

For $10 you get the following guild exclusive items mailed TO YOUR DOOR:
a wonderful LAMINATED membership card
Quarterly news zine "The Equiptorian"
$1 0ff merch FOR LIFE!
Guild pin
Guild poster
secret songs
and piles and piles of other items throughout the year!

email us at theswims@gmail.com if youd love to join!
-brian

just send $10 and your address to:
2010 Edna Ave.
Scranton,PA
18508

We did a wonderful daytrotter session on the coldest day of our lives w/ Nick Krill at the engineers stool!
Thanks to Sean,NIck and Johnnie for a splendid time!

www.daytrotter.com

http://www.thetimes-tribune.com/articles/2009/03/31/lifestyles/sc_times_trib.20090331.c.pg1.tt31swims_s1.2409568_fea1.txt

I really wish i could make those things that makes it blue and clickable. sooory

ENJOY!
-brian

http://www.ecweekend.com/arts/story.asp?id=48361

HEY!
OK?

Phew!

New web series debuts this WINsday(march 25th) featuring our wonderful tunes! GAGS GALORE!

Go to www.fantasylifeshow.com

-brianamo!

http://www.theweekender.com/music/All_is_nice_for_The_Sw_ms_03-17-2009.html

sorry, i dont know how to make those CLICK HERE things in blue
-Brian"i just work here" Langan

Thanks to The Sw!ms boys, the people who helped behind the scenes (Pidge, Brian's parents, Mike, Lady Writers, Mark), Bob Sweeney for the use of his camera and such and also for some awesome band shots, the alien volunteers (Dave, Jim, Rebecca, Jenny, Patrice, Conor L., Kelly, Mike, the Droid, the snowman, Jason, technocats), Conor for "hosting," Ted and Maureen for the use of their editing system, ECTV for the space, and everyone who provided moral support, etc etc etc etc!! :o)



PASS IT ON!!



And HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

HEATHER DAVIS

Thanks to all the above, we love you all so much and appreciate it so much,most of all thank you,Heather for making this exist, we love you and you're talented and wonderful!
-Brian/SW!MS

Check out this video: Pile Of Features (Extended Cut)