Suicide Swans
Open the gates and stand clear — Brisbane’s Suicide Swans are bringing their brand of swirling, soaring vocals and ragged country influences to you. Formed in late 2011 by Kyle Jenkins, Suicide Swans blend roots and country sounds with an indie rock aesthetic that has brought the group fans thanks to their solid work ethic and live performances. Creating music with a focus on simple, classic song-writing in the tradition of The Band, Buffalo Springfield, Little Feat and Gram Parsons, these seminal touchstones are deftly tempered with the brash, melodic elements of 1960’s rock, country, sweeping harmonies and soulful folk to create the classically informed yet authentically relevant sound unique to Suicide Swans.
In 2012 they released their first E.P Suicide Swans on Near Enough/Green Media MGM. The band is currently recording their debut album Ghosts We Forget, which will be mixed and mastered in the USA and then released later this year. The album will feature the bands forlorn harmonies above the bedlam of guitars incorporating violin, banjo, organ/piano, percussion, lap steel, bass and harmonica. It’s also the first Suicide Swans recording to feature all 5 members and the album is arguably the band’s most cohesive and accomplished set of compositions, which mirrors their live performances to date.
Live, they play with a hunger and conviction, delivering their songs with clarity through a captivating stagecraft which compliments their personal modern twist on classic Americana. They are a close-knit band of brothers whose music is a mixture of classically trained styling’s and self-taught improvisations. Their interests are informed by the basements tapes, country ramblings and rock’n’roll attitude, which can be witnessed in their raucous live shows where members swap instruments, sing in harmony and celebrate the freedom of playing music together creating countrified rock’n’roll.
Band: Kristian McIvor (born & raised in Gympie, Qld, lives in Brisbane Qld), Glen O’Shea (born, raised and lives in Toowoomba, Qld), Ben Lancaster (born & raised in Gympie, Qld, lives in Brisbane Qld), Matt Downton (born & raised in Gympie, Qld, lives in Brisbane Qld), Kyle Jenkins (born in Dungog, NSW, raised in Pleasanton, California, USA, lives in Toowoomba, Qld.
