West by Swan
West by Swan
© 2006 West by Swan and Antithetic Records (634479464713)
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Noise rock. At times chaotic and other times delicate and sparkling.
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West By Swan has been wheeling its gigantic amps into the bars, cafés and art galleries of its home base of Chico, Calif. since 2003, setting an impressive standard for the city’s fertile underground music scene along the way, and sharing bills with the likes of Kinski, Rogue Wave, The Double, The Ponys, Swords Project, Kill Me Tomorrow, The Thermals, Timonium, Joel R.L. Phelps, Wow and Flutter, and Roots of Orchis.
The band falls loosely into the grey area of post rock, wandering about on the same sonic terrain as Mogwai or Explosions in the Sky, but with one foot always staying home to kick around riffs with the rockers and the punk kids. Sonic Youth is mucking around in the noise somewhere, as is Fugazi’s insistent heartbeat, pumping fuel onto the fire.
West By Swan makes noisy, chaotic and dangerous music, or delicate, intricate, sparkling music—four individual souls wandering, exploring, and always returning to feed off what they’ve learned … and to grow stronger.
Like their contemporaries Kinski in Seattle, West By Swan have spent years filtering all the improvisation, experimentation and noise into an overwhelming way of rocking out. And to their credit, what they've put to this self-produced disc is very faithful to the live experience. Doors are blown off with volume when necessary, but more often things come unhinged in other ways.
“Port to Port” begins with all four musicians tossing around a tight, muted riff, an undertow sent to drag you away from shore. Cut to a brief pause as notes dissipate into the air just before the weight of every instrument crashes down at full volume, back into the riff’s groove as you are sent reeling with the chaotic sound of one noisy guitar darting around your head.
On "Swarm," dual guitars buzz and dart, swarm-like, chasing giddy-up drums as a runaway bass train threatens to derail it all at any moment.
West By Swan is an impressive source of energy, always precise, delivering emotional swings with conviction and clarity. Plug in, and you're in for an experience that is equal parts comforting and unsettling.
reviews
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Exceptional/Delicate Noise / Post Rock Sonic Exploration
author: Reginald TheusIn a world where 'alternative' has lost all direction and post rocks lags in the field of the usual, WBS stands out with a sutbtle, gorgeous stream of melody ripped apart by chaotic shards of sound so immediate in their violence, the results are gratifying, warm in their surprise and suggestion...the band definitely deserves the world's ear, and at least anyone that ever gave a damn for american underground rock....