The Clear Sky Relapse EP features songs written for the "Covert Transmissions" collection

PRESS:
Clear Sky Relapse (EP)

RATING: ***** (5 out of five stars)

Review by Dave Griffiths: Appears in Buzz Magazine (Australia) and Cross Culture (Australia)

It seems fitting that Minnesota based folk rockers Swallows have gone with a bright sun on their Clear Sky Relapse EP because it really does feel like a new dawn when you give this album a listen. It is a stunning surprise.

The title track ('Clear Sky Relapse') has to make it onto people's Top Ten tracks of the year lists… it is amazing and really shows what a vocal talent Jeff Crandall is…why this track isn't being played on more radio stations is beyond me.

Crandall gets gruffer on 'Rattle Them Bones' and the music flows taking the listener along on a journey. 'Home' really does feel like the odd song out here. It's very blues-country sound seems to take something away from the other tracks on the EP.

The very slow 'I Will Not Burn' allows the listener to really realise just how much emotion Crandall gets from his voice (honestly you have to hear it to believe it) while Aaron Kerr's cello playing on 'Ballad Of Charon' really gives the track an amazing mood. The beautiful 'High Water' then closes an EP that is truly a great listen.

Swallows make folk-rock sound heavenly… and Clear Sky Release is one of the EPs of the year!

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Clear Sky Relapse (EP)

Stuart A. Hamilton, Zeitgeist (UK),
December 27, 2010
It’s been a couple of years since we heard from Minneapolis/St. Paul rockers, Swallows. That was back when they released the delightfully titled Songs for Strippers (And Other Professions). That was a goodie, “a collection of inspirational songs honouring strippers and burlesque dancers everywhere.” With added cowbell.

Well they’re back with a follow-up and what it lacks in lotion it makes up for in slightly grubby, blues-tinged, American rock. It’s a wee bit rootsy with lots of acoustic instrumentation, offset by the always listenable, albeit raspy voice of Jeff Crandall.

They’re still in love with the sound of The Bad Seeds / Grinderman / Tom Waits, which is two thirds of a good thing, so tunes like ’Rattle Them Bones’, ’I Will Not Burn’ and ’[Ballad] Of Charon’ make for very pleasant listening. Although never easy.

It’s only a mini-album, 25 minutes long, but good things often come in small packages.