Written by Alison Lawrence

Crafted in Nottingham and now settled in South-Easts beloved seaside city Brighton, Swallowtail are carving their own niche in the shoe-gaze revival scene with their debut EP ‘Seesaw’. I wouldn’t mistake them for mere imitators however, they’re injecting their own fresh perspective- adding a contemporary edge that has never made shoe-gaze feel so cutting and urgent, as they expertly blend the intricate structures of post-punk, with propelling drum rhythms and vague, hazy sonic landscapes.

Imagine, you walk into a subdued room where the colour red echos from the flickers of a candle, and the air is so hot and damp with anticipation that it chokes you. Then, the opening salvo ‘laughter’ - a percussive tidal wave, not a gentle chuckle like the title suggests - nearly trips you up. You can feel the rhythmic pulses shoot from your ankles to your chest - a relentless drive that suddenly gives way to the walls of classic shoe-gaze noise, enveloping and gentle. But just when you think you’re lost in the haze, clarity emerges - implications of ‘Julie’ pass over, and Katie’s velvet voice offers a beacon of security amongst the pandemonium.

Following ‘Laughter’ is ‘To Trace’, a track which wholly embraces their post-punk influence with the driving, danceable feel on par with the likes of ‘Bloc Party’ and the same vivacious pulse of Italia 90 - but the drumming here isn’t just a heartbeat, its a nervous system, twitching with intricate textures. The vocals wash over you, ethereal in the way a spirit may make the hair on the back of your neck raise, whilst the guitars sustain and shimmer, creating something that feels fragile yet undoubtedly heavy. And then, a cathartic release into a pure shoe-gaze masterclass.

The titular track, ‘Seesaw’ feels like the memory of a song. Seesaw evokes the feeling of being drunk on nostalgia - where the sun blares and dries the wet clothes stuck to your skin, and the gentle breeze irritates the sand in-between your fingers. Its something that feels vulnerable and emotive, with the echoes of ‘Slowdive’s’ dreamlike soundscapes and the celestial shimmer of ‘Cocteau Twins,’. Next is one of the lead singles, ‘Drift’ which begins with a plethora of tension - aggressive in a playground of dynamics. It makes sense for this to be a leading single, as the chorus is undoubtedly an ear worm. The track ends with a descent into turmoil, with the tempo etching steadily faster before releasing into lonely sustained guitar.

The penultimate dream-pop esque, ‘Running From A Swan Song In Red Kitten Heels,’ doesn’t just begin with a swell of feedback, it trickles in like auricular vapour. What follows is an equilibrium between the allure of dream-pop, classic shoe-gaze and indie rock. It’s something that feels so strikingly different yet familiar, with slight reminiscences of Catherine Wheel and Interpol.

Last but not least finale ‘Vega Burns’, doesn’t just fade out. This vigorous composition detonates with a driving, tom-heavy-assault that really ties in everything that Swallowtail is: a blend of contradictions; Something tranquil but also anarchic and unsettling. I would even go as far as to say sonic poetry even.