A. Swayze & The Ghosts announce album tour dates; Let’s Live a Life Better Than This out Oct 25
ARIA-nominated and internationally acclaimed nipaluna/Hobart band A. Swayze & The Ghosts have announced their Let’s Live a Life Better Than This album tour for November and December, with shows across VIC, TAS, NSW, and QLD, plus appearances at SXSW Sydney and Chopped Festival. The album, dropping October 25, captures the band’s transition from self-destruction to love over four years, blending alternative rock, post-punk, and 70s dance-punk. The record includes singles “Tell You All The Time,” “He Is Dead,” and “Cool Cucumber,” and is available to pre-save and pre-order digitally and on vinyl.
Now a five-piece, the band’s live performances are a fusion of raw energy, live synthesisers, and precise musicianship, described as a mix of LCD Soundsystem’s guitar-driven mayhem and DEVO’s punk-infused madness. Lead singer Andrew Swayze reflects on the album: “The making of Let’s Live a Life Better Than This was a transformative journey for us. Each song reflects a lesson learned, and we hope it inspires listeners to live a more authentic, better life.” Tickets for the tour are on sale now.
Written over four years between Naarm/Melbourne and remote locations across lutruwita/Tasmania, A. Swayze & The Ghosts’ upcoming album Let’s Live a Life Better Than This marks a new chapter for the band. Recorded at Sunset Pig Studios, with frontman Andrew Swayze capturing his vocals in a DIY sound booth at home, the album is self-produced for the first time and mixed by Andy Savours (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arctic Monkeys). The record is packed with tight percussion, synths, and even saxophone, showcasing a bold shift in the band’s sound with a focus on dance-driven, guitar-led tracks. This energetic and intense new direction reflects their transition from a “band-in-a-room” writing process to creating within the production stage, inspired in part by losing their rehearsal space.
Embracing a more experimental approach, the band incorporated a wide range of influences, from techno to black metal, adopting a philosophy of following what sounds good without question. The singles “Cool Cucumber,” “He Is Dead,” and “Tell You All The Time” have already garnered widespread media support from outlets like Rolling Stone, triple j, and Spotify’s New Music Friday AUNZ, signaling excitement for the full release.
After a touring break, the band returned with sold-out shows in support of Cool Cucumber and took time to reflect on their artistic evolution. The ten tracks on Let’s Live a Life Better Than This explore deeply personal themes like fear, mental health, trauma, addiction, love, and loss, all wrapped in a quest for personal liberation. Andrew Swayze explains that this introspective process was key to their transformation: “We began as a self-destructive garage-punk band and have grown into a thoughtful, artistically liberated group, bound by love and respect.”
A. Swayze & The Ghosts, known for their electrifying live performances and frontman Andrew Swayze’s magnetic stage presence, first gained recognition with their ARIA and AIR Award-nominated debut album Paid Salvation (2020). Their early releases earned international acclaim, and they’ve performed at major festivals like Splendour in the Grass and The Great Escape, supporting acts like Jet, The Vines, and Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes. Now, with Let’s Live a Life Better Than This, the band is set to redefine their sound and take listeners on a transformative journey.
Let’s Live a Life Better Than This is out on October 25 (Independent)
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