Auckland, New Zealand indie rock/post punk/psych band Swallow the Rat have announced the release of their second studio album ‘South Locust‘.
Recorded with acclaimed engineer Nick Abbott (Foals, Die! Die! Die!), mixed remotely in Los Angeles by Sonny Diperri (Protomartyr, Diiv), and mastered in Chicago by Carl Saff (Sonic Youth), the album will be out on September 1st via Shifting Sounds. Pre-order your copy here.
South Locust is an eerie street sign half glimpsed at night somewhere in North Texas, an apocalyptic marker. But it also suggests other images and meanings; what is a locust down here at the bottom of the world, in Aotearoa?
Following from last year’s 7” teaser “Other Rooms” and emerging post pandemic as a reinvigorated three piece, Swallow the Rat (guitarist Brian Purington, drummer/vocalist Hayden Fritchley, bassist/vocalist Stephen Horsley) return with “South Locust”, with a new dual vocal attack, voices now soar, growl or reassure, while the stripped down format provides for more space and dynamics.
Lyrically, the floodgates have opened too. Looking over their shoulder, the band survey the legacy of colonialism, neoliberalism, the internet, as well as broken friendships and scenes/things torn apart, as if by a locust cloud.
The record’s lead single “Terra Nullius” will arrive on July 21 with an accompanying video.
Check out the album’s artwork and tracklist below.
Swallow the Rat South Locust’ Tracklist:
- Terra Nullius
- Gravois Park
- Mind
- Chain Mail
- Small Plates
- Cave
- ZZK
- Idea of South
- Redactor’s Dilemma
- Straight Roads
The record features a number of guest musicians, backing vocals are provided by Thom Burton (Guardian Singles), LG Galleon (Dead Leaf Echo, Clone) and Hayley Fisher (Dead Little Penny).
