ROCK
The Swift
Rocketown Records
CBN.com
– There’s not just one powerful “Love Song.” There’s an album full of love songs.
Only for four-piece, piano-driven pop band The Swift, the new CD Singing Back to You likely won’t be played for a couple’s first dance of wedded bliss or form the soundtrack for a romantic dinner for two. Rather, for the first time in their 10-year career, The Swift has crafted a project that reflects the heart of who they are and most closely resembles the center of their live musical ministry.
“We were much more intentional about this record,” says bassist/vocalist Mike Simons. “We've been leading worship together for the last 10 years, and we wanted to make a record that reflected that part of our ministry.”
On their third national release and Rocketown Records debut, The Swift lends its signature sound to the worship songs they perform relentlessly in front of thousands at camps and conferences each year. Vertically focused and including songs from many of today’s leading worship music writers, Singing Back to You unveils the band’s deepening maturity and dynamic musicianship with stylistic leanings reminiscent of Keane and Coldplay.
Piano player/vocalist Britt Edwards says, “‘Singing Back to You’ is a lyric from ‘Love Song’ that sets the tone for the rest of the album. We are seeing God as a wonderful creator who has been, in a sense, singing to us through the beauty of creation. This album is our response to that.”
Musically, the band takes its inviting and distinctive sound, which has drawn past comparisons to Ben Folds and Keith Green, and amps it up more than a few notches. “This new record is really taking things in a different direction,” Edwards explains. “We’re using a lot more electronic elements, whereas our first two records were very raw as far as instrumentation goes. This project also brings in other keyboard instruments and sequencing.”
But a growing musicianship isn’t the only change for The Swift. In addition to the band’s recent move to Rocketown, new members Guy Lemon (drums) and Matt Wilder (guitar) now round out the foursome, and both Edwards and Simons are awaiting Impending fatherhood. While Simons’ wife Suzanne is due within weeks of the album’s release, Edwards’ wait is a bit less predetermined. Britt says, “My wife Cadle and I are in the last stage of adopting a child domestically, and it’s beginning to take a lot longer than we anticipated. I’ve always been taught to not dwell on the past, and now the Lord is teaching me not to dwell on the future either. We were beginning to be so frustrated in our waiting that we had forgotten to just enjoy our last bit of time with just the two of us and how available we are right now to get involved with other things.”
And there are plenty of others things calling for The Swift’s attention, including participation in a Fall 2006 “Back to You” tour and a 2007 already being filled with nearly a dozen camps and conferences around the country. For a band that got its start leading worship in their North Carolina hometown, singing in front of thousands of kids each week makes perfect sense. Simons says, “When I was 14, music was the main reason that I kept showing up for church every Wednesday night. I know the impact that God has allowed it to have in my life, and I want to be involved in other lives being impacted. We have a real heart for evangelism. Sharing the gospel and teaching from scripture is a priority of our live performances. We don't just come to a city and play music. We work alongside the ministry that brought us in and do our best to complement the big picture.”
Edwards adds, “I’m in the music industry because these are the doors that God continues to open for us. I would hope that when it’s all said and done, our music draws people to the character and kindness of Christ. I hope that those who know Him would be encouraged to be more like Him and others would be drawn to meet Him.”
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