Swerve Releases New Single 'Ruin Your Day'

Los Angeles-based band Swerve have shared "Ruin Your Day" the title track and final pre-release single from their anticipated debut full-length album out August 13 (pre-order). The single debuted today at Under The Radar and will be on all streaming services this Friday.

On the song Swerve's Gregory Mahdesian says:

"Ruin Your Day" was one of the first songs we recorded for the album and it really set the tone for the rest of the songs both sonically and thematically, which is one of the reasons we named the record after it. It's a guitar heavy, political, psychedelic punk love song about sticking together with your partner while the world throws crazy s at you. We wrote it after Proud Boys and other misogynistic thugs caused havoc at LA bars. We were upset- this is our city, not theirs, and this became a fantasy about making sure they had a miserable experience, of standing alongside your person and ruining those guys' day. I wouldn't call it peaceful, but it is a love song!

I don't know if we've ever had a song come together so quickly. The louder and faster it got, the better it sounded, and we went really wild in the instrumental breakdown with feedback and weird guitar parts while the bass and drums hold it down. I think it was the first time I ever shouted on a recording too. It's one of the most fun songs to play live and it doesn't take itself too seriously. It's a dark but good time.

"Ruin Your Day" follows up the band's single "Maybe I Didn't Do That," "Little Rich Kids," "Escape" and "My Enemy Is Dead." The singles have been well received by press, catching the ears of American Songwriter, PopMatters, Vanyaland, Glide Magazine, Loudwire and more. "Escape" reached #1 on the KROQ Locals Only Chart and stayed in rotation for seven weeks. All tracks are available on now on all streaming platforms.

Swerve is Gregory Mahdesian (vocals and guitar), a former Classicist and progressive political organizer, his college friend Ryan Berti (guitar and vocals) and Brandon Duncan (bass and vocals), an audio engineer and protégé of Bob Clearmountain (Bowie, Roxy Music, and Bruce Springsteen). Drummer Mark Gardner, joined in 2018, solidifying the lineup.

After self-producing their first two EPs, which achieved success on the radio and built them a dedicated following in their hometown of LA, the band decided to hire a producer to help them craft a full-length. Unfortunately, their first attempt didn't go well: An indie-pop producer's techniques and sonic pallets clashed with their songs' intensity, and they decided to regroup and try again.

Luckily they were put in touch with producer Adam Lasus (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, Army Navy, Helium), who had crafted some of their favorite records from their teenage years, and they instantly bonded with him over a shared love of artists like Teenage Fanclub, the La's and The Replacements. Adam helped the band lean into rather than shy away from their influences, pump up the volume, and tap into a raw live energy while tracking. His collection of nearly 100 vintage guitars helped get them in the spirit.

Writing most of the album between 2018 and 2020, Gregory found himself composing politically minded love songs. "Ruin Your Day," "Escape," "Bush v Gore" (the band contends we all live in the wreckage of that fateful Supreme Court decision) and "End of the World" each touch on themes of finding meaning in companionship while everything else is falling apart. Some songs are less optimistic in spirit, discussing fears of never achieving what you expected you would ("Disassociate") and failing relationships ("Do You Want To Give In?", "Maybe I Didn't Do That"), but they're all tied together by massive melodies, memorable guitars, and infectious rhythm. The band feeds off of live energy and always wants their music to be fun, even when the themes are weighty.

Photo Credit: Tyler Curtis