Stereogum Home
October 3, 2007

New Black Swans - "Shake"

Ohio outfit the Black Swans consistently lay out a leisurely darkened Americana, all quavery strings and gruffed voice, thorny words. The Columbus trio -- led by Dylan-loving singer/songwriter and guitarist Jerry DeCicca -- hand in their own "Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands" on "Shake," a lovely amble from the band's sophomore full-length (after last year's Sex Brain EP), Change!

Take me down to the river.

The Black Swans - "Shake" (MP3)

The packaging promises to be just as pretty: Members of Arc North Workshop, a "sheltered art workshop" under the auspices of Columbus's Franklin County Board of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities that "provides services for 300 adults with developmental challenges," are painting 500 one-of-a-kind covers for the limited-edition vinyl version. Watch a video of the painters in action here.

Change! is out 11/6 on La Société Expéditionnaire.

Posted at 1:24 PM in
Tags:




7 Comments

new black swans! now if only there was some new sarah silverman! anyone know when the new season premieres?

Posted by: javier buchananeversonia at October 3, 2007 1:57 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I don't mean to be a dickweed but this guy's voice really gets on my nerve. It's too bad 'cause they have that old time country feel I love.

My advice to anyone who hears this band and thinks the same thing I did is to go listen to The Snake The Cross The Crown.

Posted by: Sam at October 3, 2007 3:19 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

dude, the lead singer used to/still work(s) at my favorite used record store in columbus. he was the nicest guy in that whole store of grumpy 40 year old hipsters.

Posted by: steve at October 3, 2007 6:17 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I went to High School with Jerry. His is a freaking genius. We ran a small poetry club together out of my parent's tree house. He is truly living his dream and I could not be prouder of him.

Posted by: Vincent at October 3, 2007 9:31 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I went to High School with Jerry. His is a freaking genius. We ran a small poetry club together out of my parent's tree house. He is truly living his dream and I could not be prouder of him.

Posted by: vincent at October 3, 2007 9:32 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I'm sure Jerry is a regular Mother Teresa; however, being nice abd being able to sing are not the same thing. I had the misfortune of seeing Black Swans live when they opened for Akron/Family. His voice was/is really bad and watching the set was complete torture...Luckily Akron/Family helped me forget about them pretty quickly.

Posted by: nik at October 4, 2007 2:05 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

But Akron/Family are a jam band, so I can imagine you didn't like the Black Swans. I saw a show they played together too, and like the singer's low rumble. It does take some patience, but they were way more introspective and soulful than A/F.

Posted by: heather at October 4, 2007 3:08 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


 

The 'Gum Drop

Get our newsletter. MP3s and giveaways weekly.

Search




Sort by:date relevance

Information

  • Contact:
  • About
  • Press
  • Advertising
  • Stereogum RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon
  • MP3-Only RSS Stereogum RSS XML Icon

Staff

Founder/Editor-In-Chief
Scott Lapatine
Executive Editor
Amrit Singh
Senior Writer
Brandon Stosuy
Columnist
Jon McMillan
Technology & Operations
Jim Jazwiecki
Angela Williams

The Cool Kids

All Stereogum Posts

Band to Watch logo

Band To Watch: Extra Life

Extra Life's Secular Works arrived unknown in our mailbox and quickly found its way into regular rotation. The New York group is fronted by guitarist/vocalist Charlie Looker, who spent six years in ZS, has played with Mick Barr, was a...

MORE »

Quit Your Day Job logo

Quit Your Day Job: Valet

Unless you were born with one of those silver spoons, you likely work a day job, sneaking time for your own business when not taking care of someone else's. You're not alone. Brandon Stosuy finds out how our favorite indie...

MORE »

Premature Evaluation logo

Premature Evaluation: Wolf Parade - At Mount Zoomer

Three years ago Apologies To The Queen Mary established Wolf Parade as major indie players. Since then, though, the core members' various other projects and collaborations, including Handsome Furs, Frog Eyes, Swan Lake, and Sunset Rubdown (especially), became the main...

MORE »

Video Hangover logo

Video Hangover: Spandau Ballet - "I'll Fly For You"

Every week, we dig in the archives for videos that we find noteworthy, memorable, or just unbelievably stupid. And then, Jon McMillan breaks 'em down for you. This week: the worst courtroom video of all time.

MORE »

Oldstand logo

OldStand: SPIN, April 1992

Take our ink-stained hands and join us at the OldStand, where Jon McMillan goes to remind everyone what an honest-to-goodness music magazine is supposed to look like. A while back we excavated SPIN's 8th Anniversary Dando-fest; now, through the magic...

MORE »

The Outsiders logo

The Outsiders: Vol. 11: Lucky Dragons, MGR, The Julie Mittens, Xela

Not all of Stereogum's favorite sounds conform to what folks expect us to cover. In this space, resident Bananafish fetishist Brandon Stosuy focuses on bands, albums, singles, and villages in Sweden that may otherwise pass by unnoticed. This installment's eclectic...

MORE »

The 'Gum Drop logo

Indian Jewelry - "Walking On The Water"

We dug Invasive Exotics, Houston crew Indian Jewelry's 2006 long player, but the feedback feels warmer, the structures more assured, expansive, unhinged and less Doors-y/VU-derived on Free Gold!. In fact, even if you didn't like their older work, you might...

MORE »