One of Brighton’s latest new music imports (via Nottingham) are a quartet going by the name of Swallowtail. They comprise of Katie Prescott, Caleb Ryde, Drew Vickerstaff and Fred Ford and the band combine the eeriness of The Twilight Sad with the ambience of Just Mustard. They blend the fuzzy aspects of shoegaze with the intricate melodies of post-punk, creating an elegantly gritty soundscape. Their music captures a dynamic push and pull between noise and clarity, crafting hypnotic yet sharp-edged sonic landscapes. They are very much for fans of Sonic Youth, Just Mustard, and The Twilight Sad.
They dropped their debut single, ‘Spring Guillotine’ back on 24th February, which you can check out HERE. On 28th March the band will be releasing their second single, after which they will be unleashing their debut EP, which is titled ‘Seesaw’. It features six tracks, these being ‘Laughter’, ‘To Trace’, ‘Seesaw’, ‘Drift’, ‘Swan Song’ and ‘Vega Burns’. You can pre-save Swallowtail’s ‘Seesaw’ EP on Spotify HERE.
Swallowtail will be celebrating the release of the debut EP, with a gig here in Brighton at The Pipeline on Thursday 10th April with support from Darcy, and Delirium. Tickets are on sale right now and can be purchased HERE.
If you fancy a teaser of what will be on offer that night, then you can watch live versions of ‘Drift’, ‘Clawing’, ‘Goodbye Horses’ and ‘Vega Burns’ which they played for Noize Boys Studio Sessions – Enjoy them HERE.
What others have recently said about the band:
“This Brighton-based quartet weave the gritty textures of shoegaze with the angular intricacies of post-punk, crafting a sound thatʼs equal parts atmospheric and unrelenting. Think heavy reverb-laden guitars colliding with wiry, melodic basslines, all wrapped in a hazy, melancholic intensity—like Slowdive jamming with Interpol after a long night out.” – Notts Rocks
“Swallowtail set a haunting mood, with the lead vocalistʼs breathy yet powerful voice captivating the crowd from the start. Their talent shone with every song, particularly when their guitarist swapped out traditional techniques to play with a bow – an unconventional but striking touch that added depth to their sound”. – LeftLion
“Swallowtail are the next band to break from Nottingham. Again, every shoe is better than the last. If you like noisy shoegaze Just Mustard, Cranes, Ringo Deathstarr – this is really for you”. – Dom Gourlay
