Swan Island is an all-female dance-metal crew founded in Portland, OR in March of 2004. Clearly situated within the grand tradition of Pacific Northwest feminist rock (Sleater-Kinney, The Gossip), Swan Island boldly encompasses Heart’s heart, Sabbath’s chug, and The Au Pairs’ political disco. The Centre Will Hold captures this unique fusion with the kind of crackling, raw energy that’s made their live shows legendary, resulting in a confident opening statement with soul and style to spare.

TRACKLIST:

01. Crumble (mp3)
02. Night Owl
03. Flew the Coup
04. Junk Parade
05. Home
06. Tracks
07. The Centre Will Hold
08. Grey Matter

PRESS QUOTES:

Corin Tucker, Sleater-Kinney:
“There is a lineage in Portland, but young women have always sought out role models that appeal to them, and there are girls plunking on guitars all over the world. And you can bet they will show up at the Swan Island show.”

Joe Gross, SPIN:
“Sleater-Kinney changed these five Portland gals’ lives the way riot grrrl changed S-K’s. And initially, they seem to embody every surface description of feminist punk all at once - butch and femme, political and fanciful, arty and breathy. But on this debut album, the drums find real grooves and the guitars hook up and make out, while singer Brisa Gonzales misses old lovers (’Night Owl’) and passionately tries to mind meld with the earth (’Crumble’). Expect underground domination any day now.”

John Motley, Pitchfork:
“Swan Island have packed their debut with songs that are incendiary and dynamic without lapsing into cliché. [..] If Swan Island’s music at times borders on chaos, it is an exacting and tightly orchestrated version of it– one that numbers them among the Northwest’s most promising new bands.”

Jim Keller, Venus:
“Formed in Portland, Oregon in March 2004, Swan Island makes it’s debut with The Centre WIll Hold, an LP fortified with Sleater-Kinney’s guitar-vocal call-and-response onslaught, the Gossip’s dark dance, and Black Sabbath’s metal fantasy. The result is a carnival for the ears as the quintet pushes and pulls listeners on a whirlwind escapade through rock’s centre that leaves them with windblown hair, a sticky chin, and a minor case of whiplash. It hurts so good there’s no choice but to ride again.

Listen to any of the tracks and I’m certain you’ll agree that Brisa Gonzales, with her controlled vocal intonation that doesn’t quite mimic Corin Tucker’s signature vocal howling, could be the next big thing out of the Pacific Northwest. On “Night Owl” and “Flew The Coop,” her voice seems perfectly paired with the guitar styles of Aubree Bernier-Clarke and Torrence Stratton as the three come together like the harmony of the spheres. Furthermore, “Home” has the women wrapping nostalgia in a handbag and “Tracks” packs such a wallop that it takes that handbag and beats you senseless.

Those with a more discerning eye may recognize Bernier-Clarke as the star of Sleater-Kinney’s “Jumpers” video, but the band hardly needs to rely on this type of gimmickry. With this impressive debut, it’s clear Swan Island is a band of substance; five women who bring the rock, metal, and dance, and bring it hard.”

Willamette Week:
“Heart crashing an orgy between the B-52s and Black Sabbath.”

Michelle Tea, San Francisco Bay Guardian:
“[Swan Island] mixes dark, jangly melodies and striking guitar sounds, creating a sonic place to dance the apocalypse away.”