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Richard Swift

The Cold War Kids gave a heads-up to this guy in their My Secret Playlist last week. Without knowing anything about him, I headed to his Myspace page, plugged in, and let the trembling rhythm and howling vocals of Would You wash right over me. Plucked straight from the Motown textbook, the music cuts deep. There’s so much soul coming out of this guy it’s alarming, seemingly so many years carried on his shoulder you’d expect him to be old and wrinkled by now. But when you find out he’s far from that, the jauntiness and humour coming through in his writing suddenly falls into place. The lyrics are quirky, the music is mature yet so fresh and lively, and he has an almost unparalleled ability to glide across genres. His latest EP, Ground Trouble Jaw, can be downloaded for free at the Secret Canadian website. Listen to the Richard Swift track, Would You.

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Check out our sister site, My Secret Playlist, where our favorite musicians and DJs write about the music that's inspiring them right now.
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