Swallowtail was born following a change of bassist, the addition of Ryde and drummer Vickerstaff, and one of Prescott’s ‘2am YouTube rabbit holes’. “I ended up reading all about chaos theory and ripple effects and then stumbled across the term swallowtail. I thought it sounded cool. It has all this different imagery behind it too - like that Egyptian creature, [an ouroboros], that swallows itself, and butterflies too of course. It felt like a really cool visual idea and it stuck.” The pair explain how it also linked to the Wolf Alice song of the same name, a favourite band of Prescott’s, as well as The Brian Jonestown Massacre song, one of Ryde’s musical inspirations. Overall, it felt like a perfect fit. The name became official after the release of their first single in January, Spring Guillotine, a track that swells with a sense of nostalgia, underpinned by a pulsing rhythm that twinkles beneath Prescott’s ethereal vocals. As the track explodes into its climax, Vickerstaff’s crashing and expansive drumming overtakes the repeated vocal line, I try, I try, I try - heightening the emotional impact of those words as we hear Prescott fighting to be heard over the striking instrumentation. It’s a truly beautiful offering, mature beyond these musicians mere eighteen years of age.

Ryde and Prescott describe their musical diet growing up as varied, with Ryde starting out with classic rock such as Guns N’ Roses and Nirvana, before stumbling across Cocteau Twins and other shoegaze artists like My Bloody Valentine. Prescott describes ‘being that kid whose mum played them Leonard Cohen and Nick Cave’. “Lyrics and melody have always been what I listen for in music. My dad showed me punk, things like The Clash and the Pistols. Then my brother (my family are very much into music!) got me more into experimental stuff. He loves prog music - he’s obsessed with the band Tool. I also love the Cocteau Twins - anything Elizabeth Fraser does I like! It feels like a weird party mix of everything, but I guess that’s what gives us the sound we have. We all take from different places and end up here.” she explains. The pair laugh while describing drummer Vickerstaff as an ex-‘metal head’, who they’ve managed to convert to more psych rock styles. “The other day I asked him when he last listened to metal and he said ‘Don’t talk to me about metal - I hate it now!’. He’s so quiet too, which is funny considering how much he smashes the shit out of the kit.” grins Ryde. “Drew is definitely the best drummer we’ve ever met. People often say to us after gigs, ‘You were great, you were great… but the drummer is something else!’. He has no idea how good he is.” adds Prescott. Continuing to chat about their dreams of supporting bands like Just Mustard, NewDad, Wunderhorse and The Cure, it’s clear the band eat, sleep and breathe music.