Hello reader,
How are you today?
Today, we’re excited to talk about yet another artist who is making some great music: SWOLL. From the album’s press release the intro on the artist reads as follows, “SWOLL is the genre-defying project of Baltimore musician Matt Dowling, who is best known for his work playing bass in critically acclaimed DMV bands like The Effects (Dischord Records), Deleted Scenes (Park the Van Records), and Paperhaus (Misra Records). SWOLL fuses the energy of live rock performance with the depth and pulse of electronic and trap beats. Their not-to-be-missed, visual-heavy live show creates a hybrid sound-sculpture that’s atmospherically dreamy, mysterious, and relentlessly groove-driven.” Right on. We’re intrigued and we think you will be too. I don’t think we’ve talked enough about DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) bands on SWT, yet.
SWOLL began as duo with Dowling teaming up in the studio with producer and Blight Records founder Ben Schurr (Br’er, Luna Honey). The duo released their self-titled album in 2018. Via the album’s press release, “Since then, SWOLL has evolved into a full live experience, featuring multi-instrumentalist Erik Sleight on drums and Zak Forrest on lighting design. The band’s performances are immersive, combining atmospheric visuals with a thunderous, synth-laden sonic story.” Sounds like one amazing live show and experience to me.
I know I was intrigued reading both that intro and bio and immediately had to listen to more of this project. So I listened to the entire new album and in my opinion, one of the best songs on AVOID ATTACH is “Scar.” That’s the single that we’re going to shed some spotlight on and share with you today. We’re so stoked to share it with you. The song serves as a apt description of life in modern times. The intensely but perfectly delivered vocals with poignant lyrics over the top of gorgeous bass, resounding synth and steadfast drumming results in a memorable, well crafted song. I think it serves as a great introduction to SWOLL as well. Listener, come back after exploring their albums and tell me what you think.
From the album’s press release, Frontman/bassist Matt Dowling explains about AVOID ATTACH, “I wanted to turn the psychological condition of avoidant attachment style into a verb that feels relevant right now. Avoidant attachment style is perhaps best described by Kevin Barnes’ Of Montreal lyric, ‘I need you here, and not here too.’ It’s a particularly modern condition that’s simultaneously psychological and physical. It sort of sounds bad and unhealthy (it is on the clinical edge of a disorder), but things like social media and AI, which are simply wildly popular modern tools, are particularly good places to ‘avoid attach.’ I also think things sort of feel overall bad and unhealthy in the world right now, but that could just be a coincidence, or my own projection.”
The song “Scar” via their Bandcamp page:
The wonderfully intense and awesome video for the song,”Scar” from SWOLL’s YouTube channel:
(All credits and rights to SWOLL)
The album credits for AVOID ATTACH:
- Matt Dowling – Voice, Baritone Guitar, Bass Guitar, Synth
- Erik Sleight – Drums, Sounds
- Benjamin Schurr – Synths, Guitar
- Dan Angel – Drums “The Wind at Night”, Tambourine “Scar”
- Produced by Matt Dowling and Benjamin Schurr
- Recorded by Dan Angel (Philadelphia, PA)
- Mixed by Alex Tebeleff (LA)
The cover art for AVOID ATTACH:
The track list for AVOID ATTACH:
- The Wind at Night
- Scar
- Do You Know What’s Changed?
- Sunshine (in the Servant)
- Dream
- Borrowing Air
- Any Other Way
- Save Yourself
You can follow and listen to SWOLL at the following links:
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- Their fantastic website: www.swollmusic.com/
- YouTube: youtube.com/@swollofficial2997
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Instagram: instagram.com/swollmusic/
- Bandcamp: swoll.bandcamp.com/
- Facebook: facebook.com/Swollmusic/
SWOLL’s upcoming Tour dates:
Sunday August 31st / High Dive / Hamtramck, MI
Saturday September 6th / New Cumberland Music & Film Festival / New Cumberland, PA
- Friday September 26th / Cafe NoLa / Frederick, MD
- Saturday September 27th / Government Center / Pittsburgh, PA
- Saturday October 4th / Neptunes / Raleigh, NC
- Saturday October 18th / Tin Roof / Charleston, SC
- Tuesday November 4th / The Camel / Richmond, VA
Scummy Water Tower Productions co-founder, reviewer, business manager, and editor. Thank you for visiting this site, scummywatertower.com, and YouTube for Water Tower Sessions and SWT Interviews. And all of our socials.
Questions, feedback, or more? Contact me: alex@scummywatertower.com
