Though they hail in different corners of the globe, New York's Clone and New Zealand's Swallow the Rat shared a significant moment in each of their careers not that long ago. Both groups shared a stage in my hometown of Queens, NYC the last day before the city went into lockdown mode because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Featuring ex-members of Dead Leaf Echo and Squad Car, Clone was playing what was supposed to be the first date of an East Coast tour for the Brooklyn quintet, while the No Echo-approved Swallow the Rat were in town to play the New Colossus Festival.
With both groups having new EPs in the can, they decided to combine forces and release the music as a split 12 inch, 4 tracks from each band.
As you can hear below, while both bands have their own stylistic approach, they share a love for dissonant guitars, off-kilter yet satisfying vocal melodies, and an overall air melancholy in their songwriting.
It turns out the Swallow the Sun x Clone split makes for some great springtime listening. I'm typing this while cranking the record in my backyard, so you know I'm not bullshitting you.
The Swallow the Rat/Clone split LP is available from via Headbump Records through Rough Trade (US) and Golden Antenna (Europe)
Swallow the Rat on social media: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
Clone on social media: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter
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Tagged: clone, swallow the rat
