Imitation Is The Sincerest Form Of Flattery
Sometimes I wonder what certain bands were thinking of when they first got together. In an ideal world, groups would be formed because the band members feel that they have something new and unique to offer the world, that there is a gap in the music scene which only they can fill. In the case of this Anglo Gallic collective, the thought processes seem to have run thusly: "We like Queens of the Stone Age and Fugazi; let's form a band to play some similar stuff but not as well and we could call it... Swad!" It's always a shame when European bands list their prime influences as 'the New York and West Coast musical scene' (from their press release), but if you're going to piss all over your own culture and kiss America's arse at least do it well. Why do so many groups seemingly aspire to being nothing more than the supermarket own brand version of their favourite bands? What's the point of aping another band if you can't better or at least equal their output? And, to be honest, Queens of the Stone Age are hideously overrated anyway.
From the name down, there is nothing about Swad which catches your attention. There's nothing even vaguely memorable about "10am The Sky Is Blue," not a single hook or interesting riff. This is music which is content simply to exist, and makes no effort at engaging the listener in any form whatsoever. You can't even dislike it as such; like drinking Fosters lager, it's just too bland to make any impression at all.
The CD also includes a couple of bonus videos to watch on your PC. That for 'Damned Old Wine' - one of the album tracks - intersperses clips of the band playing in a white-draped room with dull footage of some guy in a skanky apartment having mental health issues. It's fairly perfunctory stuff, although I suppose there is a vague amusement in watching four shorthairs in black T-shirts attempting to headbang but doing it such an over exaggerated manner that it looks as if they're ritually bowing to each other. 'Battle Rock' is a collaboration between Swad and The Pookies. The video basically consists of a fish-eye lens view of lots of blokes playing guitars and is probably slightly less interesting than watching your screensaver, which is pretty much all that the song deserves, really.