Swansea Sound have a new single and video out called On Our Own, and it's the first taste of their third album Pre-Post-Truth, which is out on Skep Wax Records on 13 November.
If you haven't come across them, they get called an indie supergroup, and it's not hard to see why – Hue Williams was in The Pooh Sticks, Amelia Fletcher and Rob Pursey were in Talulah Gosh and Heavenly (and are now The Catenary Wires too), Bob Collins was in The Dentists and Ian Button has played with Death In Vegas, Thrashing Doves and Railcard. Rob writes the songs, and Amelia and Rob also run Skep Wax, which is where British Birds are, among others.
On Our Own tells the story of one building over the years. It starts out as a little venue where the band first played, gets knocked down in the 80s for an office block full of clerical jobs ("the work was dull but paid enough"), and now stands empty because AI has taken all the jobs. The friends who used to play and work there are all at home doom-scrolling instead. The band describe it as chiming and Flamin' Groovies-like, and say themselves that it's more fun than that summary makes it sound. I really like it – it's carefully put together but it still sounds spontaneous and from the heart, which is a hard balance to pull off. That's what makes it sound so genuine, and it's a very satisfying listen because of it.
The album has 12 punk and power-pop songs, and the target this time is big tech. 20mph has a tech-bro winding up his British followers into a rage, not over the usual stuff but over speed limits ("I thought they'd go for trans/but no, it's speeding bans"), and the band compare that one to Wire and The Ruts. Merch Stall and Sell Out Everything take the mickey out of the indie world they're part of, and Double De-clutch is about the Dylan Thomas book bus that turns up at Welsh festivals. Stewart Lee called them "The C86 Crass", which is quite a recommendation.
They're touring from November into January, and there's a launch gig at Rough Trade East on 15 November, where there will be a limited clear vinyl edition with signed artwork:
- 13 Nov – St Leonards, The Piper
- 14 Nov – Ramsgate Music Hall
- 15 Nov – London, Rough Trade East
- 19 Nov – Exeter, The Cavern
- 20 Nov – Bristol, The Louisiana
- 21 Nov – Coventry, Just Dropped In
- 27 Nov – Sheffield, Sidney And Matilda
- 28 Nov – Manchester, Kamera
- 29 Nov – Bedford, Esquires
- 3 Dec – Oxford, Common Ground
- 4 Dec – Newport, Le Pub
- 5 Dec – Neath, Thirtythree/45 (daytime)
- 5 Dec – Swansea, Tangled Parrot (daytime)
- 5 Dec – Swansea, Bunkhouse (evening)
- 12 Dec – London, The Lexington
- 18 Dec – Rainham, The Oast
- 8 Jan – Glasgow, Glad Cafe
- 9 Jan – York, Fulfordgate Club
There's also a Bandcamp listening party on 11 November and a live one at Analogue Music in Rochester on 12 November. Pre-Post-Truth is out on turquoise vinyl, CD and digital.
Watch On Our Own: https://youtu.be/hQ_WeWW8qVk
Pre-order the album: https://swanseasound.bandcamp.com/album/pre-post-truth