Leamington Spa band The Swaps launched their first studio album (as a three piece) ‘Fast Train’ at Temperance in Leamington Spa to great acclaim on a very hot evening.
The band who slimmed down to a three-piece band in 2023 are Beth Brooks (vocals), James Knight (guitar & vocals) and Adam Phillips (guitar & backing vocals). On the evening they were also joined by Ben Haines (drums) & Stevie Watts (keyboard).
The evening kicked off with support act Ben Clempson on acoustic guitar, harmonica & vocals, who had a great guitar picking style, vocal style with intricate playing on his own songs ‘Pillar to Post’ and ‘Fly’ and with harmonica also on ‘Rolling Stone’.
The Swaps are formed around original member James Knight have great bluesy/soulful vocals from Beth distinctive voice supported by James & Adam on acoustic guitars. The album also included some tracks with Ben Haines on drums, who has been occasionally been performing live at Temperance with the band.
After a break The Swaps took to the stage and played some of the new songs from the album. They had also hosted a listening party on 26th July when all the tracks were debuted, some off the album and some live.
They kicked off with ‘Fish’ with its great blues vocals from Beth and great acoustic guitar playing from Adam & James and followed it with ‘Scars’ with its dual acoustic guitars and Beth’s strong passionate singing.
To a slower pace ‘Echoes’ has Beth’s eerie vocals and lovely acoustic guitar playing.
Then the band was joined by Ben Haines on drums and the UK Blues Award winner Steve Watts on keyboards. They then played ‘Spain’ with the addition of echoey keys from Stevie with Beth’s strong vocals and lovely acoustic guitars and Ben on drums giving it a fuller sound.
Now with James on lead vocals we had ‘Wolf’ backed by Beth on an emotive song, with great guitar picking, with a great guitar break from Adam.
To finish the first portion of their set we had ‘All You Do’ with its multi harmonies and lovely guitar work complimented by Ben’s drumming and Stevie’s keyboard playing including a great keyboard break section. The final song in this set was ‘Sweetheart’ with its great bluesy vocals from Beth supported by great guitars, keyboards & drums.
After a necessary break to get some cold air and refresh drinks The Swaps played their last song from the new album with the title track ‘Fast Train’. This included some great guitar picking from Adam and Beth’s passionate vocals to compliment.