Middlesbrough quartet, Swears, tell us about the latest single and idea behind video and their direction on latest EP, Seersucker.
George and Joel from the band join us... Can you tell us a little bit about the band, who plays what and how the band formed?
We got together in the summer of 2017. We’d known each other for years via various bands and jamming together, admired each other’s work and decided to give it a go together. George (guitar) and Stephanos (drums)come as a duo on account of the whole ‘blood bond’ thing and teamed up with Joel (vocals/guitar) to write a few early demos. Tom joined the band around a year ago, replacing our original bassist Craig.
Having only been together for a short time, you’ve released quite a bit of material. How would you describe how your music has developed from when you released ‘Faith In The Nation’ to your recently released EP ‘Seersucker’ and how has the latter been received by fans and critics?
Loud, high energy shit but quite melodic. When we started this band the idea was to do music a little more pop-orientated and accessible than in our previous bands, but as time has gone on and we’ve defined our sound, we’ve ended up becoming darker and heavier, both in terms of the music and in lyrical subject matter.
The reaction has been really good. We put a lot of effort into spreading the word and it's been heartening to see it be so well received. We've had radio play in places we've never reached before, such as USA and Australia, which is super cool.
Your first set of songs are really catchy and as soon as I heard Subliminal I was hooked. Loving this new EP too! I like the direction it’s going. I first came across the band via a sponsored ad video. Thought I’d take a chance...turned out I like it what I heard/saw. How well did the ‘sponsored as’ work out and would you consider doing that kind of promotion for your next video?
Sponsored ads these days are a must for a band of our level. The way social media works these days is to limit the reach of non-paying brands in favour of those who pay. We don't like to spend too much but just enough to make sure people actually see our stuff. We put a lot of effort into our songs and videos etc so we're glad to hear that they are working and we are really grateful you managed to find us. We will be definitely using them for our newest video for 'Say Nothing'. We'd recommend any band use them, even if it's just a spare £10.
So let’s talk about your new single ‘Say Nothing’ that you released recently. What made you choose that particular song and theme for the video?
We chose to release 'Say Nothing' as a single from the EP as it’s one of our favourites from our EP 'Seersucker’ and we really liked the idea for the video. It’s had a good reception and was regularly picked out as one of the stand out tracks from the EP too, which is nice.
We came up with the idea for the video back in January this year. Joel and George were drunk at a bar in Manchester and they made a voice note on George's phone, shouting barely coherent instructions at the phone on what the video should go like. Later, we listened back to it when we were sober and expanded it from there. But really we just wanted to wear matching suits, pretend we were gangsters and shoot each other.
Great idea for a video and I love where the idea came from. Fits in well with the song. I see Sound Music Group are involved with the band now. How did that come about and what will they do for the band?
Thank you, it was a fun video to make. We were recently approached by Sound Music Group to work with us as a booking agent, and the idea is to book a tour with them at some point. Super excited to get back to gigging when we are all allowed to do so!
We can’t wait to see you guys play and we were gutted when we had to postpone the gig! Do you have any pre-gig rituals to prepare yourselves?
We can't wait to finally play for you too! We have various secret rituals to prepare ourselves. We might also go for a quick cigarette and/or extensive toilet breaks. But mainly we all get together separate from everyone else, talk about any last-minute set changes and hype each other up.
Who’s the worst for pre-gig nerves?
We've all been in bands and playing gigs for the past 10 years or more, so at this point I don't think anyone suffers too badly from nerves. As long as we know the set is well-rehearsed we are pretty confident that we will be able to handle anything that could go wrong during the gig - we've had enough experience with all that in the past! There's always a little bit of nervous excitement I guess, but that just shows you give a shit about what you're doing.
We’ll end the serious part of the interview with some more fun questions...
Big UK fest slot or support your favourite band?
Joel: UK fest slot
George: supporting favourite band
Favourite film/series?
A Scanner darkly, The Last Kingdom, The Rush Hour movies, Drive, The Nice Guys, anything Tarantino really. Theres too many to mention really.
If you were to be sent off to a desert island what album, book and other item of your choice would you take with you?
Joel: I would take...
For album I'll go for Bob Dylan - Highway 61 Revisited. A timeless album, every track on it is a classic and it's got my favourite Dylan song 'Ballad of a Thin Man'
For book I'll go for Stephen King - The Stand. Because it's really long so will keep me occupied for a good amount of time, plus it will be fun to read about a fictional pandemic again.
For item I would take:
Either my guitar to give me something to do and stop me going crazy, my laptop so I can write, a big ganja plant if I want to sack off trying to escape and just get high all day on a beach, or something useful like a compass.
George: I would take...
The album I would take is Badbadnotgood - III. The item I would take is my guitar and the book I would take is a Macbook so I can record music. I know it's not a proper book but it says book in the name.
Favourite beer?
That one is an easy one. We all love Keo Beer. It is a beer from George and Stephanos' homeland of Cyprus. Please sponsor us Keo. The only place we can get them from is at one of the supermarkets and they come in those big bottles were you get 3 for £5. But we need more.
Last question...
Summer or winter?
Joel: Winter, "Cos it's cold and dark like my heart".
George: I would say Summer because it reminds me of Cyprus.
Big thanks to George and Joel from the band! go and check their social media pages and give them a listen on the streaming formats!










