The Swayback

Tom Murphy March 25, 2010 4:00AM

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"Die Finks" sounds like the Swayback branching out from the core sound it explored so well on 2008's Long Gone Lads. It's a departure from the jittery punk rock of the band's earliest days and a step away from the post-punk that defined its middle period. Eric Halborg's vocals take on a soulful tone, like Ian Astbury in his finest moments. The intersection of richly dark rhythms and tasteful guitar fire gives the song a bracing intensity that resists the temptation for self-indulgent instrumental passages. Memorable and engagingly edgy. The B-side, "Steamrolling," has a raunchy, bluesy sound that's equal parts Rolling Stones and psychedelic garage rock. If anything, though, this seven-inch shows the long-running band finding a strong voice that's very much its own, pulling its roots into a unified whole.

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Tom Murphy is a writer, visual artist and musician from Aurora, Colorado. He was a prolific music writer for Westword and a documenter of the Denver music scene.

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