Culture Revival

In a way, sitting down and writing several hundred words seems the wrong thing to do after listening to Mumbo Jumbo and Murder, because this is music meant for jumping up and down to. But writing several hundred words is what I’m here to do, so let’s go…

Swanton Bombs are a duo from London – Dominic McGuinness on guitar and piano, and Brendan Heaney on drums. Mumbo Jumbo and Murder is their debut album, on which they rock out. And how. We start with a track called ‘Swanton Bombs’, a ninety-second instrumental that bounces along in an irresistible welter of noise, before going straight into the first of eleven more songs – and already the tone is set.

This is a fast and furious album: barely forty minutes long in total, with no song lasting more than four (and three minutes or less the norm), the music restless throughout, and McGuinness often delivering his lyrics like there’s no tomorrow. Even though the album is short, the songs tend to feel longer (not in a bad way), because there’s often a lot going on in them, whether it’s lyrics that have a lot of words to be squeezed in, or a flurry of changes in the music. And, of course, there’s no time for any song to outstay its welcome; so there is plenty here to keep you listening.

What Mumbo Jumbo and Murder is missing, though – for me, at least – is the kind of singalong quality that would make it truly flourish. The singles ‘Doom’ and ‘Viktoria’ come closest, but don’t quite get there. So, this album doesn’t take over my head when I’m listening to it in the way that my favourite music does, but it’s still a good album to listen to.

In short, if you’re looking for a concise, rocking set of songs, Mumbo Jumbo and Murder is the album for you – and Swanton Bombs are an act you’ll want to check out.

www.myspace.com/swantonbombs

Video: ‘Viktoria’