Bio

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.

In May 2021 STR released a spilt LP with Clone from NYC. The LP features 4 tracks which were recorded by Fred Weaver (Mono, Maserati) at his studio in Pennsylvania during the band's 2020 US tour. The LP was mastered in London by James Aparicio (Liars, Spiritualized). The single Don't received generous airplay on the student radio network. After this release Sam Vercoe left the group to focus on maternity duties.

In 2022 the band opened as a trio for Arab Strap before releasing the 7" Other Rooms which featured guest vocals from Yuko Miyoshi (Memory Foam). The single was mixed by Oliver Ackermann (A Place to Bury Strangers) and went to #1 on the 95bfm top 10.

This served as a precursor for the September 2023 release of their second album South Locust. Reuniting with Nick Abbott, the album was recorded at NorthWestern in Auckland, and mixed remotely in Los Angeles by Sonny Diperri (Protomartyr, Diiv). South Locust was mastered and cut in Chicago by Carl Saff (Sonic Youth).

Band Members:
Brian Purington
Hayden Fritchley
Stephen Horsley
Sam Vercoe
Will Waters

Links

• Facebook Page
• Twitter Page
• Youtube Page
• Instagram Page
• Bandcamp Page
• SoundCloud Page