LadyDot Review: Hybrid Of Music Genres
Swingrowers – Hybrid (Album)

Very often we expect our favourite bands to make the same (or similar) music all the time. Then we are sure that we will like their new song or album. But what if they start to do experiments with different music genres? It depends. In my case the expectations were quite different. Honestly, I must admit that I didn’t believe enough in the Swingrowers’ abilities, even though they are really great. With the release of “Hybrid”, they proved how versatile and talented they are. They showed us that they are ready to conquer the whole world and gain a lot of fans – not only those who love electro swing.

”In the Blink of an Eye” is a slightly psychedelic intro that starts the whole amazing story. At the beginning we hear a reference to the song “Butterfly” from the previous album “OutsideIn”. And it feels like the concert begins (ehh, at least we can imagine it).

Then it’s time for the title track – “Hybrid”. In my opinion this track prepares us for the fact that in this album we will not hear only electro swing. You can also interpret the lyrics in this way. Or again it’s just my overinterpretation. :) Vocals and instruments are quite calm – as if they were just “comes to life”.

And now there’s a surprise that doesn’t end until the last song on this album. The real BANG! starts with “Follow the Stars”. An 8-bit, brilliant theme that reminds me of French electronic music (Daft Punk, Breakbot or Justice, for example). A big applause should be given to PiSK, who is responsible for the mixing and mastering. Everything fits together in this track. Every melody, every instrument, every effect applied to the vocal. Once again – bravo!

“Seven Million Faces” isn’t my favourite track from this album. However, I have to admit that it is very danceable and Loredana’s voice in this song sounds beautiful, sweet and crystal clear. And that saxophone sounds perfect!

While we’re on the subject of Loredana’s voice, I’m sure you’ll love the song “Precipitiamo”, where she sings in her native language. I missed it: in “OutsideIn” all the songs were in English and I wanted to finally hear something like “Senza ciatu” or “Chiovi”. This song is very extended. At the end, after a drum’n’bass style transition, Alessio plays wonderful, very rocking, powerful guitar solo. This is excellent!

“Dreamland” we already knew very well – it was released as a single in 2019. It’s a brilliant throwback to the 1930s/40s. Dance schools should use this track as background music – I can already imagine all those couples dancing swing to this song!

Time for “Wannabe”. Here again, PiSk mixes and experiments a lot (sometimes I have the impression that I’m about to get lost in the amount of tempo changes, but after a while everything goes back to normal). The pre-chorus reminds me a lot of Caro Emerald’s songs. Maybe it’s because PiSK recently made a remix of ‘Wake Up Romeo’? Pay attention to the great acoustic guitar that you hear somewhere in the background.

And now, my dears, we have the opportunity to listen to some really good swing hop! “Invisible Army” Loredana shows us how versatile she is. This song is a mix of R&B with a hip-hop beat with oldschool themes and a great saxophone (Ciro, did I tell you that you are one of the best saxophonists in the world? I’m serious!).

“I Don’t Know (How to Love)”… I don’t have enough words to describe how excellent this track is. It’s just swing funk! Yes, I know, there is no such music genre. Or at least there wasn’t – until today. Here everything fits perfectly: the bass and the guitar are so funky that I felt like I went back to the 80s. And that saxophone… solo is real magic from the first note.

I already wrote about “Rose” on my blog. In a nutshell: it’s a great electro swing song, such a return to the roots. I love singing it – there’s something about it that makes me smile. And it has a cool theme that makes me think of the charleston a bit.

Okay, it’s time to sum up. It was not that easy for me to write about this album – in my opinion the hardest thing is to write about what you like a lot. The album “Hybrid” is a hybrid of many music genres – that’s why everyone will find something in it for themselves. Swingrowers surprised and delighted me at the same time. And you know what? I really believe that they will be successful on a global scale. They don’t lack anything. They have everything: talent, feeling, brilliant ideas. And a wonderful energy, which exploded with the release of “Hybrid”.

Written & reviewed by  LadyDot (Ja, Wizeruk) Date: 2021-03-26

Bio – LadyDot

Anna (LadyDot) was born in ’94, but always felt she came from the Golden Twenties. “Polka” in Polish means “girl from Poland”, so she’s “Polka in polka dots”. She loves vintage style and spontaneous travels around Europe. But her greatest love (apart from her husband) is of course music, especially Electro Swing.

On her own Blog www.jawizeruk.pl she writes about various music genres. She is a copywriter, so writing is her strong point. Anna likes singing (not only in the shower!) and cooking (especially Italian and Hungarian cuisine).