22 Dec 2024
UsernamePassword

Remember Me? | Join | Recover
Click here to sign in via social networking

Swallow the Rat - Single Review: Other Rooms Feat. Yuko Miyoshi

10 Nov 2022 // A review by Kev Rowland

Swallow The Rat are back with a new single in time for their NZ tour (with Ripship in support, which makes a lot of musical sense to me), where they have also brought in Yuko Miyoshi of Memory Foam who provides additional lead vocals. This is a tough one to listen to, almost as if Can have been invited to a Stooges gig, and they have decided to fuzzily distort everything, bringing in additional instruments to create a carpet of sound for the vocals to rest on. There is nothing clean here, everything bleeds into everything else, and any sense of space has been distorted which makes this both intense and cloying, taking the breath and life out of everything, removing all colour so that all exists is the noise. Punk, avant-garde, noise, experimental, it is all these things and more, and possibly less.

If ever a performance was designed to provoke a reaction, then this is it, and the first time I played the first few bars I literally had my head in my hands asking, “Why me?”. By the end of the third time of playing I realised there was a great deal of depth and reality within this, so much so than most of the music one comes across in the popular charts, and only a few more found me really enjoying it. This is the only song I have heard by these guys, but if the rest of the material follows a similar vein, then their concerts must be something else. Sonically deep in the red this will not be for everyone, but for those who appreciate this style then this needs to be played on 11.

Rating: ( 4 / 5 )
 

About Swallow the Rat

Swallow the Rat formed in late 2017 when guitarists Brian Purington and Sam Vercoe began jamming with drummer Hayden Fritchley. Will Waters (Kerretta) was recruited on bass and in early 2018 the band recorded 3 songs with acclaimed engineer Nick Abbott, all of which charted on New Zealand's Alt Charts and Student Radio, along with receiving air play on KOOP (Austin, TX) and DKFM (CAN). Mid 2018 saw Stephen Horsley take over bass duties and a NZ tour commenced.

In 2019 a self-titled 7" was released which coincided with several showcase performances at SXSW in Austin, TX. A string of shows across New Zealand followed, including opening for No Age, Gang Of Four and Sebadoh. Subsequently, they signed to US label Shifting Sounds.

March 2020 they performed at New Colossus Festival in NYC as part of a US tour. Meanwhile back in NZ the singles Bird of Ill and Cold Moon both went to #1 on the 95bFM Top Ten. 24 April 2020 saw the global release of the LP Leaving Room.

Visit the muzic.net.nz Profile for Swallow the Rat

Releases

South Locust
Year: 2023
Type: Album
STR/CLONE Split
Year: 2021
Type: EP
Leaving Room
Year: 2020
Type: Album
Buy Online @ Mightyape
Swallow the Rat
Year: 2018
Type: EP

Other Reviews By Kev Rowland

Gig Review: Crushfest @ The Tuning Fork, Auckland - 07/07/2023
07 Jul 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was down to Tuning Fork for the first night of the second Crushfest festival. Tonight was going to be Wellington and Auckland bands, and then some of the same will be playing at the second night in Wellington next month.
Read More...
Rain - Single Review: Love and War
15 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
It has been quite a while since I last heard from Wellington-based singer songwriter Cathy Elizabeth, and back then Rain was seen solely as a studio project with Cathy being accompanied by Thomas Te Taite, who provided all the instrumentation including digital drums. Now they are a full band who have been performing live, and it is the first time they have recorded as such, with Thomas now, just providing acoustic guitar (plus engineering and producing etc.
Read More...
Lost Vessels - Single Review: All This Time
01 Jun 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I must admit I was not that impressed when I first saw Lost Vessels play at Crushfest, something they later admitted to me was the worst gig of their career, but since then they have improved in leaps and bounds. This has been noticed by others on the Auckland circuit as they are getting more opportunities with better support slots, and I was not at all surprised when they won the Ding Dong Lounge Battle Of The Bands in November last year.
Read More...
Unwanted Subject - Single Review: Sons of Savages
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
I have caught Unwanted Subject in concert a few times over the last couple of years, and while they have been getting better each time I have seen them, I must admit that nothing prepared me for this, which right from the off is a monster. I have never heard them quite this is aggressive, nor as polished, and this multi-sectioned single sounds almost like a different band as they have pushed their metal roots to the max in this metalcore beast which sees them mixing and blending different genres to create something quite special.
Read More...
Gig Review: Stray Dogs @ AUX, Auckland - 26/05/2023
28 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
So it was back to Ding Dong Lounge on a Friday night for one of their infamous Emo nights, which tonight was a three-band bill with Stray Dogs having an extended set, supported by Altaea and then up first we had Blindr, a band new to me. Blindr are a quartet featuring Bill Caldwell (vocals, guitar), Blake Woodfield (lead guitar), Jack Power (bass), and Charlie McCracken (drums).
Read More...
Gig Review: Turkey The Bird @ The Ministry of Folk, Auckland - 27/05/2023
27 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Back up to Auckland Guide Centre in Mount Eden tonight for my second consecutive gig (Sol suggested it was a turkey sandwich as I am at Vader tomorrow) to see Taranaki’s finest, Turkey The Bird at The Ministry of Folk. Before that we of course had Hoop, who are Al Baxter (vocals, guitar, harmonica, banjo, mandolin), Nick Edgar (vocals, guitar, ukulele, flute, harmonica), Emily Allen (violin, viola), Glenn Coldham (bass) while tonight Gary Hunt was filling in for drummer Rusty Knox.
Read More...
This Silent Divide - Single Review: Beautiful Creature
25 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Here we have the latest single from Wellington-based melodic hard rock quartet This Silent Divide, entitled Beautiful Creature. I really enjoyed their Tall Stories EP, and they played a great gig at Dead Witch towards the end of last year, and this would have been recorded at about the same time.
Read More...
Gig Review: Emily Rice @ Your Local Coffee Roasters, Pukekohe - 24/05/2023
24 May 2023 // by Kev Rowland
Earlier this week I had a message from Emily Rice asking me if I lived in South Auckland. When I responded I did, she asked if I would be interested in coming along to an event she was putting on in a coffee shop in Pukekohe to celebrate the release of her new single, Warenoa.
Read More...
View All Articles By Kev Rowland

NZ Top 10 Singles

  • APT.
    ROSÉ And Bruno Mars
  • DIE WITH A SMILE
    Lady Gaga And Bruno Mars
  • BIRDS OF A FEATHER
    Billie Eilish
  • TASTE
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • I LOVE YOU, I'M SORRY
    Gracie Abrams
  • ESPRESSO
    Sabrina Carpenter
  • SAILOR SONG
    Gigi Perez
  • LOSE CONTROL
    Teddy Swims
  • A BAR SONG (TIPSY)
    Shaboozey
  • GOOD LUCK, BABE!
    Chappell Roan
View the Full NZ Top 40...
muzic.net.nz Logo
100% New Zealand Music
All content on this website is copyright to muzic.net.nz and other respective rights holders. Redistribution of any material presented here without permission is prohibited.
Report a ProblemReport A Problem