Biography
Swearin' reshaped the spirit and texture of D.I.Y. punk into a more intricate emotional register, thanks to songwriting that distilled both the thrill and doubt of youth while the group’s path wound onward through time. The outfit originated in 2012, emerging directly from the remnants of singer/guitarist Allison Crutchfield’s earlier project P.S. Eliot, which she had launched alongside her twin sister Katie during their teenage years in Birmingham, Alabama. Once P.S. Eliot ended, Allison relocated to Brooklyn alongside Kyle Gilbride, previously of Big Soda, and together they launched Swearin'. Between 2011 and 2014 the band operated with relentless drive, shifting base to Philadelphia and aligning closely with Katie Crutchfield’s Waxahatchee endeavor amid an intense and productive stretch. The group dissolved in 2015 yet returned after two years, inking a deal with Merge and issuing its third full-length, Fall into the Sun, in 2018.
Allison Crutchfield and Kyle Gilbride jointly fronted the band as its guitarist/vocalist pair when Swearin' assembled in 2011, completed by bassist Keith Spencer and drummer Jeff Bolt. They moved swiftly to capture the six-track demo What a Dump, whose raw, distorted sound mapped the terrain ahead: an angular, melodic guitar-pop approach rooted in ’90s forebears, propelled by emotional directness and rapid tempos that slotted cleanly into the D.I.Y. punk and house-show circuit of the 2010s. What a Dump appeared in December 2011, with a full-length self-titled album arriving the following year. Extensive touring ensued, leading to the second album, Surfing Strange, issued in late 2013. In 2015 Crutchfield and Gilbride, who had remained partners throughout the band’s existence, chose to separate, thereby dissolving the group as well.
Over the ensuing years Crutchfield navigated a period of flux, performing within her sister’s Waxahatchee lineup, settling in Los Angeles, and entering an agreement with Merge Records for a solo release. Tourist in This Town reached listeners in early 2017. With time, lingering tensions eased, prompting Crutchfield, Gilbride, and Bolt to reconvene by mid-2017 to explore the possibility of regrouping. Instead of revisiting unfinished songs from before the split, the band—now operating as a studio trio—drew from the turbulence of their intervening years. The resulting material revealed a more seasoned and polished incarnation of Swearin', which again partnered with Merge for the late-2018 appearance of Fall into the Sun.
Allison Crutchfield and Kyle Gilbride jointly fronted the band as its guitarist/vocalist pair when Swearin' assembled in 2011, completed by bassist Keith Spencer and drummer Jeff Bolt. They moved swiftly to capture the six-track demo What a Dump, whose raw, distorted sound mapped the terrain ahead: an angular, melodic guitar-pop approach rooted in ’90s forebears, propelled by emotional directness and rapid tempos that slotted cleanly into the D.I.Y. punk and house-show circuit of the 2010s. What a Dump appeared in December 2011, with a full-length self-titled album arriving the following year. Extensive touring ensued, leading to the second album, Surfing Strange, issued in late 2013. In 2015 Crutchfield and Gilbride, who had remained partners throughout the band’s existence, chose to separate, thereby dissolving the group as well.
Over the ensuing years Crutchfield navigated a period of flux, performing within her sister’s Waxahatchee lineup, settling in Los Angeles, and entering an agreement with Merge Records for a solo release. Tourist in This Town reached listeners in early 2017. With time, lingering tensions eased, prompting Crutchfield, Gilbride, and Bolt to reconvene by mid-2017 to explore the possibility of regrouping. Instead of revisiting unfinished songs from before the split, the band—now operating as a studio trio—drew from the turbulence of their intervening years. The resulting material revealed a more seasoned and polished incarnation of Swearin', which again partnered with Merge for the late-2018 appearance of Fall into the Sun.
Albums
