Psychedelic pop outfit Swansgate introduces the music video for “Island of Lies,” a track lifted from their forthcoming album, Becoming Someone, slated for release on April 22.
Talking about ‘Becoming Someone,’ vocalist/keyboardist Stu Draughn says, “With this album, we really wanted to bottle up about 20+ years’ worth of musical influence into a 45-minute piece of music. My dad died a year before starting the project, and that thrust me into a transformation of sorts. I went through a long process of reflection, which led to a better understanding of who I am. Just as we are all children of our ancestors, this album is a child of all the musical ideas that inspired it. I really tried hard to capture the essence of every artist I’ve ever loved while arranging things in a way that is new and fun to listen to.”
Made up of Stu Draughn (vocals, keyboards), Michael McKinney (guitar, keyboards), Gabe McKinney (bass), and Mike Kaloudis (drums), Swansgate’s genesis occurred in a small town in North Carolina, when three friends got together to make music. Over time, their sound evolved into modern, synthesizer-driven psychedelic pop, merging lysergic guitars, bass, and synths into music tinted with jazz and experimental elements.
“Island of Lies” opens on a thumping rhythm topped by kaleidoscopic guitars. As a layer of luminous synths enters, the tune assumes dreamy, misty textures, revealing exotic streams of coloration. Stu’s meditative voice imbues the lyrics with pondering flavors.
Gleaming, sparkling washes of shimmering tones fill the solo section with soft wave-like suffusions, giving the harmonics radiant tropical hues, while the finessed, syncopated beat imbues the rhythm with delicious percussive taps.
As the music culminates, it takes on a scintillating flow of leitmotifs, complex and intricately integrated.
The video depicts the members of Swansgate in the recording studio, amalgamating their talents into alluring tiers of synths, guitars, and drums.
At once hypnotic and gliding on creamy, low-slung layers, “Island of Lies” delivers sumptuous psychedelic pop, wonderfully wrought.
