Richard Swift Swift on the Ground

For the prolific artist, the quickness and ease of issuing music in a digital format must feel like a welcome release. Richard Swift is described by his record label, Secretly Canadian, as "a long-in-the-tooth impresario of all not-a-computer." And, sure enough, his continuing retreat into the primitive pop-song sounds of half-a-century ago suggest a recidivist's heart beats deep within his hefty bosom. But digital-dissemination befits the prolific, inventive, genre-juggling songsmith.

In 2008, Swift has already issued an album under his side-project nom-de-disque Instruments of Science and Technology, as well as a playful 'double EP' of proto-rhythm-and-blues called Richard Swift As Onasis. Keeping the onslaught coming, Swift is now releasing a download-only EP entitled Ground Trouble Jaw.

Recorded, in part, at Wilco's studio (or 'loft space,' as it were) in Chicago, it continues Swift's recent exercises in genre recreationism and old-fashioned tape-recording techniques. Of course, these jukebox-friendly, old-soul-centric sounds make Ground Trouble Jaw a slightly anachronistic a digital-only release.

Still, it's hard to argue with the cost: nada! The five-song set is available for virtual thievin' here. And, as an added, totally new-millennial blessing, there's a suite of Swift-made 'short films' that serve as a kind of making-of, ready to be witnessed right here.

Photo © [Paul Heartfield]