Swearin – ‘Watered Down’
The other Crutchfield twin, Allison, has joined sister and her band Waxahatchee on the Witichita books, and it seems a shrewd move as apparently talent runs in the blood. Swearin and this track ‘Watered Down’ is far from their previous pop-punk efforts with a 1990s-inspired grunge-fuelled droll that is petulant perfection.
‘Watered Down’ is one of those tracks that seems to roll out of your speakers with a breezy, effortless cool while retaining deepened bass and a grittiness to get your teeth in to. The new release from their forthcoming Surfing Strange sounds like a Smashing Pumpkins/Oasis blender batch of Brooklyn’s finest.
Kyle Gilbride possesses the whine of an undignified rock star, and the sardonic delivery of a used-up bard and his duet with Allison gives this otherwise grunge number a charming romance. The lyrical lovers’ duel is intriguing and softens the glaring early ’90s influence, but Swearin are doing it with an ironic twinge to their perfectly managed aesthetic.
The track is propelled by an early Indie sarcasm and sharp-as-a-tac adolescent wit that is all backdropped by Brooklyn guitars that smack of intelligent Grunge. Swearin are bound to be adorning every American indie film featuring Zach Braff or Joseph Gordon-Levitt for the next few years. And why the hell not?
The band do have a tinge of scenester to them, but with riffs and drums that would make Sonic Youth slap on a pair of shades and commit sarcastic homicide, Swearin have an authenticity that sets them apart.
Swearin will be touring Europe for the next few weeks, so if you can catch them, make sure you do for a perfectly postmodern slice of all-American apple pie. However, if you can’t just hop on a plane to Berlin, then stick this track on your iPod and head on down to McDonalds.
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