Them Swoops play up-tempo guitar pop wrapped in spaced out synth lines from the future. Having been around for about a year and a half , they are about to release our debut EP Glimmers through New York’s +1 Records. Since forming, they’ve supported other bands including San Cisco, The Rubens, Last Dinosaurs, Ball Park Music, Birds of Tokyo, Hungry Kids of Hungary and more. They’re throwing a launch party at Northcote Social Club on Saturday 15 June with supports from Greasers (members of New Gods, Eagle & the Worm, ex-Little Red) and Hiding With Bears. We have a chat with singer/guitarist Dave.
Tell us – what’s the story behind Them Swoops? When did you meet each other and decide to form a band?
We started out as 3-piece, went down to a 2-piece, went up to 4-piece and now we’re a 5-piece! It’s a ridiculously convoluted story beginning with Chris on bass, Adam on drums and myself on guitar/vocals. I had 3 songs recorded from a previous project lying around and decided to begin a new band with those as a starting point and go from there. Those songs were ‘Work Around It’, ‘Too Fast for Love’ and ‘Rollerskate’ all of which appear on the EP.
Soon after starting, Adam accepted a job in London and we were down to a 2-piece before roping in Satoshi Sanada on synth/guitar and Zac on drums. In between this Chris left for Vietnam so we got James in on bass. Then Zac had to focus on his other band so we got Lee in on drums. Now Chris is back and he’s switched to guitar. All our press shots have 2 members in them because it was so confusing for a while but we’re finally here as a 5-piece, the way we were always meant to be!
Your debut EP Glimmers is due out for release on June 14. How does it feel to send your first official release out into the world?
It will be pretty awesome to finally have a (small) collection of songs out in the wild. We’ve released 2 singles so far that are doing well overseas (and here to an extent!) and the EP will give us a chance to ramp up the exposure a little more. We’re treating the EP as a business card that you’ll hang on to until the album. It’s definitely an exciting time for us.
You recorded the EP with Mark Needham, who had previously worked with bands like The Killers and Bloc Party, how was it working with such a big name producer?
We tracked the EP here in Melbourne and sent it off to Mark in Los Angeles for mixing. So the mixing process was done via correspondence, sending revisions back and forth until we had something everyone was happy with. But from the very first mix Mark sent over, we could tell it we’d be happy with where he was taking it. It’s quite shocking to listen back to the mixes we had before he got on board. I don’t know what he does over there but whatever it is, it works.
What would you say your glistening brand of indie is the best soundtrack for? Besides being swooped by birds, that is.
Whilst our music is not great accompaniment to being swooped by a bird, it could definitely aid in the getaway process due to increased adrenalin and higher heart rate. It also makes you feel more attractive when you listen to it. So if you have it on your headphones while you’re standing near someone you want to impress, you be emitting some kind of strange appeal that’s borderline irresistible. This doesn’t apply if you’re a psycho or a stalker. People can pick up on that shit.
The first ever demo track you recorded together, ‘Work Around It’, attracted great attention both in Australia with constant airplay on Triple J, as well as over in the States with SiriusXM Alt Nation who are credited with discovering Foster The People and Grouplove. Were you shocked by your sudden catapult into the music spotlight?
That song’s been on quite a journey and we’re thrilled by the reaction it’s received. It feels like it’s given us the absolute ideal start as a band and people all over the world are saying such nice things about it. Having Alt-Nation get behind it in the States has been amazing and it’s now a totally realistic and viable option for us to head over there and play to people. So from coming up with it in my bedroom, to Triple J playing it, to Alt-Nation – it’s been a real spin-out.
Speaking of Triple J, you were also major Unearthed winners in 2012 and landed a spot on the Fuse festival lineup. What was that like seeing as it was only be your seventh ever live show at the time?
It was a massive surprise of course and we’d only just enlisted Satoshi on guitars/synth (I was at his house teaching him songs when Triple J called me!) so it was very early on in the game for us. We were only allotted a 20min set and were the first act on the bill but we didn’t care. They flew us all over and put us up in a hotel and we had an amazing time.
If you could curate your own festival, where would it be, who would be on the bill, how many people would you let in and what features would it have?
We’re all fans of Meredith and Golden Plains and feel that they’ve pretty much got the whole festival thing sorted. From location, line-ups, being able to BYO, and just the general vibe of the people that go – it’s kind of perfect. Also, ATP a few years ago was awesome at Mt Bulla so something like that could be cool. As for who’d be on the bill – there’d be the crowd-pleasers Phoenix, M83 and Daft Punk, there’d also be Deerhunter, Real Estate, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, Wild Nothing, Kurt Vile and there’d be Spoon playing ‘Girls Can Tell’ in its entirety. And a bunch of rad local bands like Twerps, The Stevens, Greasers and of course, us!!!
You’ve been touring quite extensively, grabbing great support slots for the likes of Hungary Kids of Hungary, San Cisco, The Rubens, Ball Park Music, Birds Of Tokyo and Last Dinosaurs. Any great tour stories worthy of passing down to the grandchildren?
Sydney and Brisbane tend to bring out our adventurous sides when we’re away. But those stories are for when the grandchildren turn 18.
Do you get any time to go to any gigs between your own touring duties?
Yes! We all like to get out and about to shows around Melbourne. I went to every residency show that New Gods played at The Workers Club in May. Saw Super Wild Horses smash up the Tote last weekend and I’m looking forward to seeing Dick Diver, Twerps & The Stevens at The Corner in a few weeks.
What’s in store for the second half of 2013?
We’ve been invited to play the CMJ Music Conference in New York in October, so that will be the main thing we do in the second half. We’ll likely play in LA too. And surrounding that we’ll be writing and demoing our butts off before pre-production begins on our first album.
Finally, tell us what we can expect from your EP launch at Northcote Social Club on June 15.
Being a band that usually support other bands, we’re accustomed to playing a 30min set and getting off the stage as quick as possible. We’ll be able to play things we don’t usually have time for and relax a little. I’m super excited that Greasers are playing. They released one amazing album a few years ago before the members’ side projects exploded (Little Red, Eagle & The Worm) and we’ve asked them to play it from start to finish. It’s gonna be total deluxe.
Listen to Rollerskate here:
