Originally performing under the Lights name, Brooklyn's Cliffie Swan merges acid rock expanses with '70s AM radio hooks. Vocalist/guitarist Sophia Knapp, drummer/vocalist Linnea Vedder, and bassist Alana Amram formed the project in 2004 after Knapp encountered Vedder inside an art supply store, prompting the pair to compose material together and stage shows at parties. They enlisted initial bassist Andy MacLeod, formerly of White Magic, then tracked their self-titled debut alongside Espers' Greg Weeks for a 2008 Language of Stone release. Drag City soon signed the band, which delivered follow-up Rites in 2009. Toward the close of the next year the group adopted the Cliffie Swan moniker to prevent overlap with the Canadian pop artist known as Lights. Their final Lights release was a cover of David Bowie's "As the World Falls Down" for charity album We Were So Turned On: Tribute to David Bowie. Knapp, Vedder, and Amram collaborated with Erika Spring and Hannah Rawe on their first Cliffie Swan album, 2011's Memories Come True.
