"the wind at night / don't turn around / my soul is saved / a life without / your world / your world..."
The otherworldly shoegaze alt rock trauma and survivorship of "The Wind At Night" by SWOLL, [the genre-defying project of Baltimore musician Matt Dowling who is best known for his work playing bass in critically acclaimed DMV bands like The Effects (Dischord Records), Deleted Scenes (Park the Van Records), and Paperhaus (Misra Records)] is artfully out there, a tension filled mystery that feels like it is either from the recent past or recent future. The big sonic downbeats scream approximating the flight or fright drama of an alien air raid siren. I am loving the death defying quality of the density and tautness of the sound. For me there are elements of late 70's space rock colliding with early 80's Bauhaus or Kraftwerk-ian envelope pushing and the syncopated guitar thumping (is that bass or guitar) recalls outfits like Death Before 1979 transmorphing with the flirtatious baroque pop of Kate Bush, at least in my scattered brain (is that weird?).
"The lyrics for "The Wind at Night" were the very last lyrics I wrote for the album. I wrote and tracked them in Alex (Tebeleff)'s studio in LA somewhere around November of last year (2024). Specifically, in Alta Dena right off of Lake Ave. A couple months later, that whole neighborhood burned down. Like many of my lyrics, I don't really understand what they mean until they're done. Had I talked about the lyrics the day after I wrote them, I would have said something boring and generic like 'a song about how life can change quickly, and you gotta sort of embrace that and roll with it.' Now I'm wondering if some cosmic clairvoyant force was channeling through me. I had a previous version of the chorus that was laughably complex and bad, and then all the sudden, I was like 'I need to make this simple.' And then "The - Wind - at - Night" came out for the chorus. Today, my answer is: that song is about life's 'Alta Dena' events' that hit us like a brick through the window, and how even when your world is turned upside down, those events 'make' you for better or for worse. While we don't really have a choice unconsciously on how such events affect us, at least try to view them for the better knowing how important they are in shaping us."
"The Wind At Night" is from SWOLL's new album "AVOID ATTACH". The album was tracked by Dan Angel and Ben Schurr in Philadelphia, PA. The record was mixed by Alex Tebeleff in Los Angeles, CA and mastered by Sarah Register in Brooklyn, NY. and DROPS on September 26th.
LINER NOTES (excerpted and bracketed) about the new album:
[Reflecting on the themes woven throughout the upcoming record Dowling explains:
“I wanted to turn the psychological condition of avoidant attachment style into a verb that feels relevant right now. Avoidant attachment style is perhaps best described by Kevin Barnes’ Of Montreal lyric ‘I need you here, and not here too.’ It’s a particularly modern condition that’s simultaneously psychological and physical. It sort of sounds bad and unhealthy (it is on the clinical edge of a disorder), but things like social media and AI, which are simply wildly popular modern tools, are particularly good places to ‘avoid attach.’ I also think things sort of feel overall bad and unhealthy in the world right now, but that could just be a coincidence, or my own projection.”]
-Robb Donker Curtius
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.youtube.com/@swollofficial2997
https://swoll.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/swollmusic/
https://www.facebook.com/Swollmusic
https://www.swollmusic.com/
SWOLL is the genre-defying project of Baltimore musician Matt Dowling, who is best known for his work playing bass in critically acclaimed DMV bands like The Effects (Dischord Records), Deleted Scenes (Park the Van Records), and Paperhaus (Misra Records). SWOLL fuses the energy of live rock performance with the depth and pulse of electronic and trap beats. Their not-to-be-missed visual-heavy live show creates a hybrid sound-sculpture that's atmospherically dreamy, mysterious, and relentlessly groove-driven.
Moody, layered, reflective, and deeply emotional, SWOLL has historically given open nods to music icons like Unwound, Kraftwerk, Antelope and Shudder to Think while incorporating undercurrents of hip-hop, trap, post-punk, and new wave. The song “Scar” itself is an homage to the now-defunct Washington band, Puff Pieces (a descendent project of Antelope), and the social commentary delivered through their prescient 2016 LP, Bland in D.C.
Originally formed as a studio collaboration with producer and Blight Records founder Ben Schurr (Br’er, Luna Honey), SWOLL's debut self-titled LP caught the attention of critics with its brooding basslines, minimalist textures, and Dowling’s haunting falsetto. Since then, SWOLL has evolved into a full live experience, featuring multi-instrumentalist Erik Sleight on drums and Zak Forrest on lighting design. The band’s performances are immersive, combining atmospheric visuals with a thunderous, synth-laden sonic-story.
SWOLL continues to explore the human condition and vulnerability through both sound and spectacle, delivering live shows that are as visceral as they are cerebral. Having shared stages with artists such as Gang of Four, Moderat, and A Place to Bury Strangers, SWOLL continues to push the limits of genre, emotion, and performance art in modern music.
SWOLL, post punk, shoegaze, alt rock, electronica, trap beats, dreamy, mysterious atmospheres, nostalgic, futuristic, dark predilections, "The Wind At Night" (Official Video), New album "AVOID ATTACH", Matthew Dowling,
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