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Photo courtesy of Mute Swan
The Big Takeover is proud to premiere the new single by Sonoran shoegazers Mute Swan. Returning with Phantasms of the Living (ft. Sonoda), Mute Swan unveils an existential rocker written during lockdown in a house overlooking the Tucson valley. The track’s title comes from a book by the same name first published in 1886 by Edmund Gurney about apparitions of people who are not deceased, similar to someone who mistakenly believes their ego is real.
Lyrically, the single contemplates the ephemeral nature of being “someone”, as the ego, memories, and the future amount to mere thoughts from someone grappling with Nondualism. Featuring a backing vocal performance by Los Angeles-based dream pop artist Sonoda (aka Lisa Sonoda), the band became interested in a collaboration after both artists shared a stage and subsequently learned of a common interest in spiritual and metaphysical topics.
In 2014 Mute Swan started rehearsing in a warehouse art space in downtown Tucson. Since then, their amps have gotten bigger and their sound has evolved from indie/psych/post-rock to a heavier shoegaze/dreampop/psych style while maintaining intricate drumming and tight song structures. While living together and touring extensively throughout the U.S., they self-produced three albums along with a slew of singles and videos. They’ve opened for The Psychedelic Furs, Modern English, Kikagaku Moyo, Wild Nothing, Boy Pablo and Wand, (amongst many others). Their latest LP, Only Ever, was released by boutique labels Salty Dog Records (AU) and PIAPTK Records (U.S.) in 2019 with wide-scale distribution stateside and in Europe.
The band plans to release a string of singles, each featuring friends and artists they admire. A music video is in the works as well as some upcoming tour dates:
8/24 Tucson, AZ @ Arches
8/25 Phoenix, AZ @ The Lost Leaf
8/26 Los Angeles, CA @ The Elysian Valley Lounge
8/27 Long Beach, CA @ Vine
9/1-9/1 Tucson, AZ @ HOCO Fest
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