Reviews

Fan From Leeds

Hi
Saw you at Esquires yesterday.Just wanted to congratulate you on your original line up, extraordinary sound, energy stage presence, musicianship and songwriting. I was initially blown away by the sound when I couldn't spy a bass player, an electric guitar or a plethora of pedals to assist the sound. No weak links here... It would seem from my short research that you are unsigned? Unbelievable. Is that deliberate?
I thought you were infectious and direct and polite and personal with the audience.
Do you ever get up north? Please email me if you are coming to Leeds, I live there. I also play in a band in Gloucester, I'm going to pass your myspace account onto the other members (who are based there) and see what they think Glad to have caught you live.
Mat

 

 

When you combine serious talent with something unique, you get something special – something worth listening to, something worth going to see… something hot… something like The Swamis.

So what’s it like to be burnt by The Swamis? Imagine an indefinable somewhere between Placebo and Pearl Jam, with a bit of Radiohead lurking in the background, all the time fighting for a piece of the limelight alongside pioneering influences like Zeppelin and Hendrix… a melodic, swaggering, intelligent rock that reeks of having a good time. And, aside from the speed with which their shirts generally come off, this is exactly what The Swamis live are all about. Think more party, less gig!

Then, as you’re consumed by the sight and sound, you may realise there’s something not quite right. Your ears are hearing something that your eyes don’t see. There’s lead vocalist Dan. Dan delivers a whole lot more than you would initially expect when you first see his eccentrically good-looking young frame, with his acoustic guitar perfectly complimenting the naturally gifted guitarist Paul, whose fingers move mesmerically around his 12-string fret board in an effortless way that you could never hope to learn. All this backed by technically superb drumming… that’s it! No bass player! As sure as you think that it must be in there somewhere, all you need to know is that they don’t need it and you won’t miss it.

A full-on rock wall of sound experience from two acoustic guitars and a drum kit should not make sense. With The Swamis, uniquely, it does.

FRANKLY I'm shocked.
I've come to expect Sundays at Esquires to be a lazy, laid-back experience. Laid back The Swamis may be off-stage but lazy just doesn't get a look in.
Not previously a subscriber to the Swami Army I can't give an accurate track listing but there were certainly some future favourites in there from the blues opening of Erase Me to the superb Levitate Me C.
The Swamis do big tunes, with great aplomb. Which is just as well since 12-string guitarist Paul Jackson reckons the objective is, at least, world domination.
Apparently they want to "impregnate the essence of every soul alive, until every living thing has become swamified" his words not mine including the "omm" at the end.
Seriously though, I'm a fan of the melodic and Paul did warn me at half-time that the second set might get a bit shouty.
Wrong, singer Dan Buckland could not do shouty if you beat him with a big stick; his voice is just too bloody good.
If you didn't see The Swamis this time round they'll be back on May 27th but don't bet on them being at such intimate venues for long. I'm so convinced they're going to be huge, I even got them to sign a CD for future fortune-making on ebay"