swelt’s second EP, Ready the Moon, steps into new, yet familiar territory—a delicate, atmospheric exploration of friendship, grief, and human connection. Released on October 18th and produced by Euan Hinshelwood, the record draws heavily from folk, slowcore, and post-rock influences. swelt has crafted an EP that feels intimate and raw, weaving a melancholic blend of sparse yet rhythmic compositions.
Lead vocalist Reuben Brunt speaks to the heart of the EP, noting, “The EP is an exploration of connection and friendship after having lost a close friend.” This connection runs through each of the four tracks, creating moments where space and sound breathe together, highlighting swelt’s signature vulnerability.
“I Thought This Winter Would Never End” opens the record with a more rhythmic approach than anything the band had written before. Brunt’s harmonies, inspired by 60s American folk acts like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, bring an added layer of warmth to the otherwise sparse arrangement.
Inspired by mid-century carols and reflecting on the bleakness of an English winter, the song tackles themes of loss, both personal and seasonal.
“My Only Reflection” brings together influences from Jason Molina and Get Back era Beatles, creating a fuller, more textured sound compared to the band’s earlier Red Mountain EP.
Written in the wake of a personal tragedy, it feels both intimate and heavy, reflecting swelt’s ability to capture emotion without overwhelming their sonic palette. “Performing it can be difficult but also cathartic,” Reuben admits, making the track a deeply personal, almost ritualistic experience.
Title track “Ready the Moon” shifts the tone to something more hopeful, inspired by a night camping by a Loch in Scotland. Reuben’s partner Mali adds soft vocal layers, and pianist Al Horner’s haunting keys provide a contrast to the EP’s previous darker tones, infusing the record with a sense of mystery and fleeting encounters.
Closing out the EP is “Rain, So,” which takes a more free-form, experimental approach. This track, finished last despite being one of the first written after Red Mountain EP, feels like a bridge between swelt’s earlier, minimalistic sound and the fuller arrangements of their new material.
Ambient slide guitars and violins provide an uneasy, melancholic feel, mirroring the improvisational nature that brought the song to life in the practice room.
swelt’s Ready the Moon invites listeners to dive deeper into themes of loss, memory, and the fragile nature of human relationships. It’s an EP that’s both melancholic and hopeful, leaving room for introspection.
Here’s the full track by track commentary, offered by the band for this special feature:
I Thought This Winter Would Never End
We wanted to make something more rhythmic than anything we’d written in the past, whilst still keeping sparse instrumental arrangement at its core. Reuben (singer) was listening to 60s American folk bands like Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, and took inspiration from the layered harmonies they used. The rhythm in the final section of the song was inspired by American Old-Time music and the way they often have odd half beats at the end of the sequence to make it feel off kilter. Lyrically the song explores loss and friendship. The aesthetic of a long, bleak English winter is taken from a mid-century carol which was the favourite of a lost friend.
My Only Reflection
This song was written when we were listening to a lot of Jason Molina and watching the Beatles documentary ‘Get Back’ on repeat, so those influences seeped through in their own ways. This song kind of set the mood of the new EP, with a considerably fuller arrangement and bigger sound than our first release, ‘Red Mountain EP’. The song was finished in early 2022, after a dear friend of ours tragically and suddenly passed away. The lyrics were written during a time of grief and distress, and are essentially trying to make sense of that strange time. It’s probably the most personal song we’ve written to date, performing it can be difficult but also cathartic.
Ready the Moon
‘Ready the Moon’ was inspired by a night spent camping by a Loch in the Highlands of Scotland. We spent the night with some mysterious characters, they kind of floated into the night and were gone by morning. It was a joyous night of chance encounters and speaks to the human experience and meeting strangers. We were joined in the studio by Reuben’s partner Mali, who provided some extra vocals, and our old friend Al Horner who laid down some haunting piano parts.
Rain, So
This was the last track we finished, despite being one of the first songs we started writing after ‘Red Mountain EP’ came out. It went through a few structural changes and really came together in the studio. We layered a lot of ambient slide guitar and violins over the track, which gives it a kind of melancholic, slightly uneasy feel. The second half of ‘Rain, So’ has more of a sparse, free-form approach, having come together as a result of improvising together in the practice room. It feels like a good way to end the EP, sounding like a bridge between the more minimal, spacious sound of our older songs, and the fuller arrangements of these new tracks.
As the band embarks on a UK tour, fans can expect to experience these songs live in intimate settings, from Hereford’s The Victory to London’s The Finsbury, all the way to Halifax’s Grayston Unity.
11.10.24 Hereford – The Victory
19.10.24 Bristol – Ill Repute
25.10.24 London – The Finsbury
26.10.24 Derby – Dubrek Studios
30.10.24 Southampton – Suburbia
31.10.24 Oxford – Common Ground
01.11.24 Halifax – Grayston Unity
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