News

Sways Announces Label Launch And New Releases

• 18th Feb 2011

SWAYS is a record label based in Salford, England. SWAYS supports cultural regeneration through the commercial reproduction of wayward art rock. Led by the shadowy figure of “The President”, the four bands signed to the label form an impassioned and tightly-bonded collective, sleeping, drinking, eating and fighting together, united in their ambition to release music that will re-assert Manchester and Salford’s position at the vanguard of popular music.

Following the critically-acclaimed release of “Men’s Ruin” (SWAYS001) by The Marder, the first singles by The Louche F.C, Emperor Zero, and Irk the River are now available for pre-order on 7” vinyl and collectively as a ‘SWAYS Starter Pack’ (including new SWAYS mix tape) at link. The singles will be released on 26 February 2011 to coincide with the label launch night at The Castle Hotel, Oldham Street, Northern Qtr, Manchester.

THE MARDER
The Marder’s debut EP, “Men’s Ruin”, was recorded by Steve Albini in Chicago and immediately drew comparisons with the likes of The Pixies as well as iconic post-punk bands such as Television and Magazine. Not that they are a backward-looking band; The Marder are firmly at the cutting-edge of the Manchester new wave, waiting for the world to catch up with them.

“THE MARDER are very much a band you want to keep a very careful eye on. Their bleak twangy tones are suitably informed by a remote obsession with early Factory singles, The Chameleons, the progressive rumblings of latter day bands such as Foals and George Orwell. Theirs is a vision of 1984 set in black and white and the guitarist has his guitar hitched up so high that it’s literally being sucked into his armpit. The end result is a jerky, very clever twist of timings that makes Interpol sound as smooth as Bobby Brown, but it’s the voice, stolen from the Postcard Records era of Orange Juice and Josef K that provides the final, convincing, musical wrench. Superb stuff from a band we’ll no doubt be hearing a lot more from.” – Manchester Music

“The Marder have produced a brilliant EP, giving more weight to theory that Manchester will keep churning out great bands until the sun implodes.” – The Skinny

THE LOUCHE F.C
In the latter part of 2010 The Louche F.C (or The Lush F.C, as they are affectionately known) began playing their idiosyncratic brand of “60s Post-Punk” / “Orbison Shoegaze” to delighted crowds throughout Salford and Manchester, with storming sets at Red Deer Club and Underachievers Please Try Harder endearing them to those who stood and listened and fell in love.

Their debut short player, “Back Bedroom Casualty” / “Only in a Dream”, will be available on ltd edition clear red vinyl and as a digital download.

“Live performances from Manchester band The Louche F.C can be a beguiling, sometimes disorientating, experience. A guitar three-piece who cite the influence of such music terrorists as Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields, theirs is a noise-rock assault which proudly turns up the amplifiers and threatens audiences with full-on sensory overload.

Keenly melodic, their intricate spectral pop absorbs krautrock, post-punk, Sixties pop and shoegaze, while luscious harmonies provide a bright counterpoint to this dense wall of sound.

A band full of contradictions and incongruities, they’re a rare beast in Manchester’s current experimental rock brigade; bursting with clever-clogs musicality yes, but not forgetting to bring the emotional guts and devastating tunes too.” – City Life

EMPEROR ZERO
In March 2010 Emperor Zero joined forces with The Marder for a series of gigs in East Berlin. Late one night in a noir bar, following triumphant performances at the Kunsthaus Tacheles, the two bands made a pact with the SWAYS President. That pact is as strong and resolute today as the icy cold night that they made it.

Back in England, in a disused bag factory in the shadows of Strangeways prison, the Emperor Zero sound evolved and the songs took shape.

Their first single, “Berlin”/”Man with Red Eyes”, will be accompanied by a video featuring a mesmerising performance by Steve Evets, star of Ken Loach’s “Looking for Eric”.

Their latest song, “Mental Health Café”, is available as a free download on the SWAYS mixtape at link.

“They sound like a collision of Pavement, The Fall and Sonic Youth with a great big crunchy side-order of lo-fi grunge and are thus probably the nastiest band ever to grace the Underachievers stage. That's nasty in a good way, of course.” – Manchester Music

IRK THE RIVER
With a shouty, stripped-back sound that has been described as “hard pop”, Irk the River are one of Manchester music’s best kept secrets. Keeping live performances to a minimum, the band have instead focussed on crafting their recorded sound in the SWAYS studios. Their first single, “Valette”/” Mind That Child”, emphatically justifies their exacting approach.

“Irk The River join a band of almost completely unrecognised but highly influential artists residing in the Strangeways area of Salford. Aligned with The Marder and Lucifer Over Lancashire, Irk The River’s demo is both stark and striking in its appeal. The raw, uncompromised fusion of bass and guitars owes a lot to the Gang of Four’s “Damaged Goods” era, with a funk spike and simple but memorable riffs providing an industrial purity to the music, as the vocals explore agit-pop ideals and chase melodies between urgent yelps. “Valette” is the best track, but “Lights Out” steals back the sound of exciting, subversive, abrasive leftfield guitars from the indie disco and puts it right on the centre stage on the city's best underground scene.” – Manchester Music