Swansea Sound

Swansea Sound is a UK indie pop group formed in 2020 and active since then. The line-up centres on Amelia Fletcher and Hue Williams, with Rob Pursey and Ian Button playing key roles in its recording process. The group releases music on Skep Wax Records.

Background

The band emerges from members of established British indie groups including Talulah Gosh, Heavenly and The Pooh Sticks. It begins when The Catenary Wires are forced to work at home during the 2020 lockdown. Rob Pursey writes a set of songs that he feels are too punky for The Catenary Wires, and he and Amelia Fletcher suggest them to Hue Williams, the former vocalist of The Pooh Sticks. Williams agrees, and the project develops into a full band and then a full album.

Style and themes

Swansea Sound plays short, tightly arranged songs that combine melodic indie pop with a punk edge. Its lyrics take on fascism, consumerism, major-label rock and streaming music sites, while also including occasional love songs. The music is described through a power pop and indie pop lens, with references to c86-style songwriting in some of the singles.

Recording and releases

The group works remotely at first. Pursey writes the songs and records guitars and bass, Ian Button adds drums using a mixture of samples and live drum sounds, and Williams records vocals at home. Fletcher sings her parts into microphones, Fay Hallam contributes occasional keyboards, and members of the Portland band The Crystal Furs appear on a couple of tracks.

The first release appears at the end of 2020 as a two-song cassette-only single, Corporate Indie Band / Angry Girl. Another single, I Sold My Soul on Ebay, is issued as a one-copy pressing and later sold through the auction site for £400. In March 2021, the band releases a single pairing Corporate Indie Band with Je Ne Sais Quoi, which reaches the UK Physical sales Top Ten. After two more singles, the debut album Live at the Rum Puncheon is released in late 2021. The album includes all of the singles and appears on Skep Wax and the US label HHBTM.

Live activity

Swansea Sound plays its first live show at Preston Pop Fest in August 2021.