Swirlies: c/d etc etc

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I don't see any threads on the Swirlies

-- Garnett James ([email protected]), June 17, 2002.

...until now.

So, the Swirlies. Rubbish? or Good?

― electric sound of jim, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Personally, I think their first couple of singles (and the "what to do..." compilation) are excellent - especially the 7" on Slumberland. After that it's all a bit less interesting. The "Blonder Tongue Audio Baton" LP had good moments, but I've been less than inspired by anything since...

― electric sound of jim, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The remix compilation, _Strictly East Coast Sneaky Flute Music_, is unexpectedly fantastic. (And how many remix compilations end with a live SS Decontrol cover?)

Also search: their mutant cousin band Trollin Withdrawal, especially the "Emil Eye" single.

― Douglas, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I actually like all of the Swirlies releases for the most part.. especially "They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days...". I've always wondered what Damon had with the whole ostrich motif.. and the seemingly feudal contract with Taaang!

― Brian MacDonald, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I saw them. I forget when, where, etc. Chick singer? Lots of feedback? My mind's a blank.

― Sean, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I don't see any threads on the Swirlies

I started one a long time ago but it'll take a better man than I to locate it. I think most of what I had to say was that They Spent their Wild etc is consistently brilliant and it's a shame the "oh, American shoegazers" write-off camouflaged that for a lot of people.

― nabisco%%, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Also if there's an American-indie counterpart to the British post- shoegazing pre-postrock "lost generation," then the Swirlies and Lorelei are a huge part of it.

― nabisco%%, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Here is that earlier thread.

― Mark, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

(Some of Sean's mind became lodged in that thread.)

― Mark, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

according to their website they are recording demos for a real album, not any of that yes girls mess that i mistakenly picked up one regrettable day. what to do about them is absolutely classic, the first album was a letdown but then they made a huge comeback with 'the spent...'. syrup usa is not so bad either, like the swirlies for your little sister.

― keith, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Yet another nod to They Spent Their Wild Youthful Days. However, after lovin' that, I hunted down Blonder Tongue Audio Baton, which all the guides had as their best, and it was terrible. All I remember is some skit that was supposed to make fun of "rednecks". Oooh, how brave....

― Curt, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I read what I said on the last thread and realized that I haven't listened to the Swirlies since posting then, so maybe classic is an overstatement.

I have Blonder Tongue playing in the background and I pretty much stand by what I said before. So can somebody make a note to post another Swirlies thread a year from now so I can: 1) remember to break out They Spent Their and 2) motivate myself enough to break out of lurker mode for a brief moment?

Keith and Curt, I'd like to know what sets the second album apart from the first for you? I always preferred the first one, I think due to a general sloppiness that eventually became endearing, but the second may have the advantage in terms of actual songs. Also, based on the people who have posted so far, this seems to be a band strictly for the hopelessly indie (including those in the midst of rehabilitation), which makes me wonder if the Swirlies have charms that can be appreciated by anyone other than those who have a long history in tape hiss.

― Miranda, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

miranda i think i was just hopelessly let down by 'blonder', i loved loved loved 'what to do...'(heart of my shoegazer phase) and was waiting for the new record and when it came out it just seemed flat and lifeless, it didn't have any snap or any pop elements just a continuing shade of grey for me, except for the best sonic youth song ever 'park the car by the side of the road' but then i already had that on 7". on the other hand i had largely forgotten about the swirlies when i picked up 'they spent...' and was amazed by it's goodness, it was loud and big and exciting and unexpected. i guess i haven't been too descriptive, just vague and fannish, sorry.

― keith, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, while "Blonder" is not my first choice Swirlies release, I don't think it's as terrible as most make it out to be. "Bell", "Jeremy Parker", "Wrong Tube", "His Love Just Washed Away", etc. are all fabulous. Isn't the "redneck skit" just a Raymond and Peter sample? Or are you referring to something else?

I think the EPs are more disappointing, as they really don't contain anything of worth in addition to the "singles" that lead them off. In fact, they feel more like contract fillers more than anything.

― Brian MacDonald, Monday, 17 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Hang on, you mean there's another Swirlies LP after "Blonder tongue"? And I didn't know about it? Shit! I obviously can't comment on the second album then, but "Blonder..." is a GREAT album, it's dynamic, warm, fuzzy, has tunes that buzz in yr head and is the sort of record I would have liked MBV to make around early 1990 if they could have been bothered and before they immersed themselves in samples and reverb (ooh, daring!) It's also got one of my favourite uses of the word "fuck" in a song too. Couldn't name any song titles of the top of my head because I just play it and don't look at the sleeve. And the second album is BETTER than that? Christ, where can I get a copy?

And a big hi to any Lorelei fans too, 'cos they were cool too.

― Rob M, Tuesday, 18 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Lorelei RULED and I hear there's more recordings on the horizon from them..

― electric sound of jim, Tuesday, 18 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

I saw them live, and they had the ugliest bass I've ever seen...olive green sunburst! Oh, and "They Spent their..." is cool.

― Nick A., Tuesday, 18 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

it seems to me they ended up being somewhat unsung or derided (I remember in some old matador newsletter the line '... played with the swirlies [big puking sound]', I spoze they're no h.p. zinker). damon seems pretty gifted to me. they have songs where the middle and end don't sound like the beginning, which I appreciate. 'blonder tongue...' was my first intro to them, and I like it better than the preceding works which sound more like other bands and are simpler (which is maybe why some like those more). 'brokedick car' ep is good too (maybe one too many ver. of 'pancake'). not sure if the swirlies 'house of pancake' remix predates unrest's 'isabel' remix, but they are similar in concept and chord. 'they spent their...' is a v great album, but I have a harder time recalling songs from the latter bit of that one. bendy guitars, non-kitschy synth use, unexpected song changes, nonannoying silliness, clear, unaffected vocals. good times.

― danielgamesh, Wednesday, 19 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The chick singer is gone. If she's doing anything musically now I don't know what it is. I saw them open for Spectrum fairly recently, right before Sonic Boom got busted for weed in North Carolina (doompatrol knows all the details (and is perhaps still holding a vigil in his bedroom?)) and they were pretty good but I forgot all about them after Spectrum. They seem like nice folks.

― Tracer Hand, Wednesday, 19 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

for those who haven't noticed yet, or don't know/remember her name - see the Seana Carmody thread. that track - "Tomorrow's Song" (already retitled for her album I hear) has me hooked!

― Paul, Wednesday, 19 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

listen to "Tomorrow's Song" here

― Paul, Thursday, 20 June 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

nine months pass...

Just got their new record "Cats of the Wild: Volume Two". Another completely unpromoted, overlooked, and brilliant Swirlies record pretty much. A little more playful sounding than "They Spent..", and maybe not quite as brilliant as that record, but this is just my first listen here, and it's already very very impressive.

(It's not like that "yes girls" CD.. this is a full, rock out Swirlies album.)

― donut bitch (donut), Saturday, 19 April 2003 22:43 (twenty-three years ago)

I remember Blonder Tongue. I remember thinking it was incredibly good, listening to it twice, and throwing it into the cassette box, never to be seen again. Maybe it's time to revisit.

― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Saturday, 19 April 2003 22:55 (twenty-three years ago)

one month passes...

Just came back from seeing Swirlies play live..(along with Lazarus, Explosions in the Sky, and the Lilys.. who are still BJMing it bigtime as I type)..

TOTAL opposite of the one man Damon show I saw a few years ago. I was told this was half the original band(?). Anyway, five piece... including drums and female vocalist. rock rock rock! They hit every release pretty much, did some really old favorites, and put on.. well, pretty much a crowd pleasing show. I'm finally vindicated! (still though, the live stuff is more murky and sloppy than the excellent recordings)

― donut bitch (donut), Wednesday, 4 June 2003 06:38 (twenty-three years ago)

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