Video Premiere: Large Island Iced Tea by Swayze

Today we are immensely proud to bring you the first looked at the new video for Large Island Iced Tea from Canadian punks Swayze. Large Island Iced Tea is the third track from Swayze's 2020 EP St. Angry. The music video was directed, filmed and edited by Swayze's friend Jason Hamill and features Skylar of THE FAPS in multiple roles, most of which include him throwing garbage at the band.

St. Angry is available on all streaming platforms and available for purchase on Swayze's Bandcamp page.

https://linktr.ee/swayze
https://vimeo.com/jasonhamill
https://thefaps.bandcamp.com/

St. Angry is the newest EP from Saskatchewan-based dad punk band Swayze. St. Angry sees the band bring together elements of melodic hardcore, punk rock and pop to form a set of five aggressive, yet melodic, tunes. Lyrically, the band are as dismal as ever, using the EP as a means of catharsis for the members’ feelings of depression, anxiety and self-hatred.

Album Review: St Angry by Swayze

Canada is a factory for producing incredible punk rock bands. My latest discovery from that wonderful nation is Saskatoon’s Swayze. The four piece released their EP St Angry on May 15th. After seeing a recommendation from a friend, I knew it was something I had to check out and I wasn’t disappointed.

St Angry begins with its title track. This is a great introduction to Swayze for any newcomers. It starts with a pounding drumbeat and some distorted guitars that build the song up before some a great guitar riffs and then the vocals come in. Vocally it’s gruff and raspy and not too dissimilar to Chris Cresswell of The Flatliners. Chris Cresswell is widely regarded as having one of the strongest voices in punk rock so I’m all about hearing something similar here. As St Angry progresses the track gets more and more intense. I found this captivating. As it hits its absolute peak, the song stops dead before building up slowly again for its finale. This was a great way of keep me interested in the track. Up next is Trambopoline. This track shows a more melodic side of Swayze. I believe it also uses a different vocalist as the vocal is a lot cleaner and less raspy than it was on the previous song. At almost five minutes in length, this song is a long one but it really shows off the band’s ability to play their instruments as well as constructing a well thought out track. It doesn’t feel long just for the sake of it. There are highs and lows in perfect moments that really help to get you emotionally invested in the song.

Large Island Iced Tea is a song that’s packed with energy from start to finish. The vocals are clean and drive the song forward at a great pace. I love the raspy vocals as well. For the second half of the song we are treated to a more aggressive, primal style vocal which is accompanied by softer harmonies. This is a great touch to the song that I wasn’t really expecting and really loved. The penultimate song is titled Portrait Of An Ass Grabber. Showing some great variety, this is a one minute and seventeen seconds hardcore track, allowing the band’s third singer the opportunity to shine. It’s the most aggressive song on St Angry by some distance but if you’re more into the poppier side of punk this shouldn’t put you off. The song is full of melody and plenty of moments where you can sing along. The final track is named Gorilla For Sale and features Derek Kuchirka of Me The Guts on lead vocals. This sees Swayze take on a more pop punk sound with a cleaner vocal that can hit some big notes. I found it quite interesting having a guest vocalist sing the majority of the song but it adds even more variety to the EP. The slower pace gives the song more of a big feel and makes it the perfect choice to finish the EP.

Swayze and St Angry are among my favourite discoveries of 2020. Check them out, I really think they will be one of your favourites as well.

Stream and download St Angry on Bandcamp here.

Like Swayze on Facebook here.

This review was written by Colin Clark.

Top Tens: Colin's Top Ten Band He's Discovered In Lockdown

Being in Lockdown has sucked. We can’t see our friends and families. We can’t go to gigs. We can’t do any of the things we love. It has provided us with plenty more free time to do other things though. I’ve enjoyed having more time to listen to our ever expanding record collection and I’ve started playing Football Manager again. I’ve also found the time to release a 155 track compilation raising money for Music Venue Trust that you should check out here. And I’ve also had loads of time to discover new bands. Here’s a top ten of bands that I’ve discovered so far.

Articles
I discovered Articles thanks to The Fest 19 playlist. The Gainesville Florida based trio play that typical Fest sound – raspy vocals, great melodies and catchy hooks. In March, Articles released a new two track single named Smoking Section / Pool Party that absolutely rips. FFO The Lawrence Arms, Ann Beretta, Smoke Or Fire.

Custody
Finnish punk rockers Custody were one of the highlights of the first Boatless Booze Cruise live stream festival for me. I think I was drawn to them as they played full band rather than acoustic like the majority of the acts. Melodic gruff punk of the highest order is what Custody do. Writing and performing songs that have you aching to throw your fists high and sing along. Check out their recently released second album on Brassneck Records now! FFO Leatherface, Hot Water Music, The Run Up.

Fail Sons
Washington D.C. punks Fail Sons were a recent Bandcamp discovery. It is still the best place to find new and exciting punk bands, especially if you can’t get to a gig. Focussing more on the fast paced pop punk side of things but never shying away from throwing in a guitar solo, Fail Sons are one of the most exciting bands in the genre I’ve discovered in some time. FFO Pinhead Gunpowder, Teenage Bottlerocket, Zatopeks.

Fine And Great
This wasn’t so much a discovery but I was told about them during the lockdown so I think they still count. Fine And Great consist of Manu of Captain Asshole (the person who told me about them), Tooney from Call It A Wasteland and Hannes from Kick Back. Fine And Great play emo pop punk and feature fantastic dual vocals from Manu and Tooney. This band are so new that they’re yet to play their first show, other than a live stream at Boatless Booze Cruise last weekend.

Grey Matter
Bad Time Records have earned a reputation for releasing quality ska punk music. When new UK distro Pookout Records got some new stock from Bad Time Records in, I took a punt on Grey Matter and was not disappointed. The Michigan based band take everything you think you know about ska punk and add so many other influences. In a genre that sometimes gets tarred as “all songs sound the same”, it’s great to see a band that proves that that’s really not the case. FFO experimental ska punk.

Kids On Fire
Much like Bad Time Records, Seattle’s Tiny Dragon Music have a reputation for only releasing quality punk rock. During the lockdown, the label had a big sale so I bought Chosen Family by Burn Burn Burn from them. I also decided to take a chance on an album named Songs In The Key Of Bummer by a band I hadn’t heard of called Kids On Fire. This turned out to be a fantastic decision as Kids On Fire are awesome. They play fast paced indie punk rock with fantastic vocals and plenty of opportunity for singing along and having a lot of fun. FFO The Loved Ones, Forever Unclean, The Drowns.

Postage
New Yorkers Postage are another band that I discovered because they are playing The Fest. Featuring Mike Moak from After The Fall, you might expect this quartet to be more of a hardcore sound. That, however, is not the case. Playing a mid-tempo pop punk with an edge, on my very first listen I knew this was a band for me. I don’t know how often they get out and play shows due to Mike’s After The Fall commitments so I’m going to make sure I take the opportunity to see them at Fest. FFO ALL, The Mr T Experience, Night Surf.

Stuck Out Here
Stuck Out Here are a four piece band from Canada. In their own words, Stuck Out Here play “party angst anthems” which I think is a perfectly accurate description. Like Postage, this is mid-tempo pop punk that will get you singing along with all the passion. Their 2019 release, Until We’re Each Someone Else, is packed with great moments and I implore you to check it out. FFO The Menzingers, Signals Midwest, The Penske File.

Swayze
Swayze are another band from Canada, a country that produces a crazy amount of brilliant punk rock music. One of the biggest kept secrets on this list, I was very surprised to see that they don’t have much of an online following. Their latest EP, St Angry (which you can expect to see a full review for on CPRW in the near future), is packed with high tempo punk rock with big gang vocals and fantastic harmonies. This is a band who seem to write songs with my tastes in mind. FFO Lagwagon, Captain Asshole, MakeWar.

Virginity
Wiretap Records have become one of my favourite record labels over the past few years. They release so many great records from bands of a variety of different punk genres. In Virginity they have another brilliant band on their hands. The three piece from Daytona Beach, Florida, are just about to release their new EP Death To The Party on June 5th and looks set to explode among fans of emo/pop punk music. FFO Expert Timing, Dikembe, Modern Baseball.

This top ten was written by Colin Clark.