Swmrs

Originating in Oakland, California, the punk rock group SWMRS—pronounced “swimmers”—emerged with a fondness for vintage West Coast pop-punk and melodies that echoed indie rock sensibilities. Although the members formed the project before any of them could drive, they gradually shaped a distinctive identity. Their first releases surfaced in the early 2010s as Emily’s Army, comprising two albums and the prophetically titled Swim EP, before the collective adopted the SWMRS name in 2015. The breakthrough LP Drive North followed in 2016 on Fueled by Ramen.

The narrative opened in 2004 when nine-year-olds Cole Becker and Joey Armstrong watched School of Rock and decided to start a band. Armstrong, whose father Billie Joe Armstrong fronts Green Day, chose drums instead of guitar; Cole handled guitar and lead vocals while his older brother Max Becker, then eleven, played bass and sang. Initially called the Raining Souls, the trio changed to the Clocks after discovering the first name was taken, then settled on Emily’s Army to honor Cole and Max’s cousin Emily, who suffered from cystic fibrosis. In 2008 they posted early recordings on MySpace and, despite their age, performed at modest California venues and festivals. The Goody Two Shoes EP appeared in 2009, the same year guitarist Travis Neumann joined to make the lineup a quartet. Billie Joe Armstrong produced the 2011 debut album Don’t Be a Dick!, and he returned for the 2013 follow-up Lost at Seventeen.

By then Emily’s Army had toured both U.S. coasts, played several U.K. dates, and joined the Vans Warped Tour. The Swim EP surfaced in 2014 with the same four-piece that had been intact since 2009, yet by release Neumann had departed, Max had switched to guitar, and Seb Mueller had taken over bass. The revised configuration prompted stylistic shifts that made the band hesitant to revisit older songs. Contractual restrictions during 2014 festival appearances in England prevented separate club shows, so the members booked U.K. dates under the temporary alias Swimmers; upon returning home they made SWMRS their permanent name.

The single “Miley” b/w “Uncool” arrived in 2015, followed by a brief spring tour on which Mueller’s absence—due to college exams—was covered by Joey’s brother Jakob Armstrong until Mueller could rejoin. Drive North, the first album under the SWMRS banner, emerged in February 2016; Zac Carper of FIDLAR produced it for the band’s own Uncool Records imprint. After its independent launch, a partnership with Fueled by Ramen and Atlantic Records led to an October 2016 reissue that added “Palm Trees” and “Lose It.” Two years later the title track of their next album, Berkeley’s on Fire, was released. The full set, issued in early 2019 and produced by Rich Costy (Muse, Death Cab for Cutie), completed the quartet’s fourth long-player.