Bay Area quartet SWMRS released its long anticipated debut single this Tuesday, Sept. 8. Comprised of four friends, SWMRS is a punk rock band that recently gained notoriety for its 17 minute long epic “Like Harry Dean Stanton.”
Having been commissioned to write the soundtrack to a fashion show by Hedi Slimane, Saint Laurent Paris’ creative director, the band got together and, with the help of “several 40 oz. bottles of malt liquor,” they put together a seventeen minute punk ballad that turned heads across the fashion world.
After this blazing introduction, the group of set to work on their first album. They returned to their home of Oakland, CA and started on their first single, “Miley.” Described as “the most punk tribute to Miley Cyrus ever,” SWMRS have put together one of the most raw and genuine punk songs of our generation.
A dying art, punk rock has very few modern influences, mostly relying on the classic artists such as The Ramones or The Sex Pistols. SWMRS clearly has been influenced by these artists, as their sound is a trip back to the time when it was cool to wear all black, have messy haircuts, and fight the authority.
Front man Cole Becker gave his insight to the song’s inspiration, saying “I was trying to explore my relationship to Miley Cyrus as this person who has been a presence in my life since I was really young. I feel like I grew up with her.” Becker’s chorus claims Cyrus is “punk rock queen” and he elaborated upon this vantage point, explaining, “I think it’s just the fact that she does exactly what she wants. I think it’s really rare to see somebody doing that. She’s a business commodity, but seems to have maintained a lot of creative autonomy, which I think is super punk rock. And the fact that she’s standing up for sexual freedom and gender fluidity – I think that’s really important, and something that not a lot of pop stars are doing.”
The band is made up of Cole Becker (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Max Becker (lead vocals, lead guitar), Joey Armstrong (drums, backing vocals), and Sebastian Mueller (bass, backing vocals). The group got together after a failed project entitled, “Emily’s Army” and burst onto the scene earlier this year.
Although they have only recently cemented themselves as a genuine musical act worthy of a listen, which they definitely are, their origins can be traced back to when Becker and Armstrong decided to start a band after seeing the Jack Black film, “School of Rock” at age eight.
While this is the first full album that the group has put together as a band, Becker and Armstrong both released a pair of full-length records and multiple EP’s before graduating high school. The two are used to success, however, as they have previously toured the country and performed at various festivals across the world.
Continuing their musical triumph, SWMRS is currently on tour across America and will be in Dallas on Sept. 19. The band’s new singles are available on iTunes under their label, “Uncool.”
