The Swingin’ Utters are one of those bands that can “change the game” for someone, so to speak. Especially if you have an affinity for punk rock, their albums are easy to pick up and enjoy since they are, in essence, a street punk band. But the Swingin’ Utters have been doing much more than just street punk, and have been able to incorporate Americana sounds into their songs with such ease and efficiency, that even the most stubborn punk find him (or herself) caught listening to, and thoroughly enjoying, a country tune when that wasn’t their intention. After that, all it takes is paying the slightest bit of attention to the words, and this enjoyment easily becomes an immersion. Suddenly, a whole new genre of music opens to the listener. Bands like these are few and far in between and it’s the reason that almost ten years after discovering them I’m still finding something new to enjoy in their albums.
Trips to the East Coast don’t happen very often for these guys, and when I heard that they were playing Philadelphia (and at the North Star Bar no less!), I (Ollie Mikse knew it would take some sort of divine intervention to stop me from being there. Adding to the experience was my chance to chat with a pensive and serious Swingin’ Utters before their set, and a much more loose (and slightly inebriated) version afterward.
Source The Swingin’ Utters are one of those bands that can “change the game” for someone, so to speak. Especially if you have an affinity for punk rock, their albums are easy to pick up and enjoy since they are, in essence, a street punk band. But the Swingin’ Utters have been doing much more than just street punk, and have been able to incorporate Americana sounds into their songs with such ease and efficiency, that even the most stubborn punk find him (or herself) caught listening to, and thoroughly enjoying, a country tune when that wasn’t their intention. After that, all it takes is paying the slightest bit of attention to the words, and this enjoyment easily becomes an immersion. Suddenly, a whole new genre of music opens to the listener. Bands like these are few and far in between and it’s the reason that almost ten years after discovering them I’m still finding something new to enjoy in their albums.
Trips to the East Coast don’t happen very often for these guys, and when I heard that they were playing Philadelphia (and at the North Star Bar no less!), I (Ollie Mikse knew it would take some sort of divine intervention to stop me from being there. Adding to the experience was my chance to chat with a pensive and serious Swingin’ Utters before their set, and a much more loose (and slightly inebriated) version afterward.