Swell was an indie rock band formed in San Francisco in 1989 when David Freel (vocals/guitar) and Sean Kirkpatrick (drums) decided to record an album.
Swell's influences range from 1980s post-punk bands, Pink Floyd to folk, noise pop and Ennio Morricone film scores.
By early 1991 their booking agent in Belgium was calling them back to Europe to play shows in France, Germany, Austria, the Benelux, Switzerland, and Norway.
Whenever You're Ready- recorded with Sean Kirkpatrick - and the compilation Bastards and Rarities (featuring unreleased tracks and alternate mixes of songs from early albums), which both appeared in 2003.
The band played dates in France, Austria, England, Switzerland, Holland, Germany, Spain, Portugal and Belgium where the tour ended on 26 November with an extra show in Heist-Op-Den-Berg.
[1] Original members united for a tribute to David (Kirkpatrick, Vallier, Wenner and Dettman-Lytle) in April 2023, playing favorite songs from the first 4 albums.
Kirkpatrick, Vallier, Wenner and Dettman-Lytle are headed out on the Reunion Tour in December 2023, with shows in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle.