Glenn Milchem has long been recognized as one of Canadaâs premier drummers, but now with Awkward Situation, the third release by his band The Swallows, he will also be recognized as a formidable singer/songwriter.

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ROCK: Modern Rock, POP: Power Pop



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Glenn Milchem has long been recognized as one of Canadaâs premier drummers, but now with Awkward Situation, the third release by his band The Swallows, he will also be recognized as a formidable singer/songwriter. The self-produced album was recorded in 2004 at The Woodshed in Toronto but the release was delayed until now. Milchem has become used to unpredictable scheduling thanks to Blue Rodeoâs non-stop tour schedule, and recently his involvement with acclaimed electro-rockers Holy Fuck. The first Swallows album, Turning Blue came out in 1999, followed by The Beauty Of Our Surroundings in 2002.

These interim periods have given Milchem time to develop his songwriting, and Awkward Situation finds him at his versatile best. On the album he leads a group of old friends, bassist John Borra (Change Of Heart, A Neon Rome), drummer Randy Curnew (CâMon), and guitarist Jonny James. "I really just write for the sake of writing now," Milchem says. "Completing a song is one of the most satisfying things I can think of, and I try to do that as often as I can. In the past, a lot of the material didnât seem to fit what I originally wanted The Swallows to be, which was a rock band.â

While the songs, "Out Of The Way" and "Human Shield" present Milchem in an unexpectedly vulnerable state, the bulk of Awkward Situation lives up to the solid pedigree that Milchem has been known for since the â80s, when he began playing with an endless variety of post-punk, metal and roots artists.

After joining Blue Rodeo in 1992, Milchem had to curtail some of his extra-curricular activities. His wide-ranging talents had an immediate effect on the group and pushed them in daring new sonic directions. "I was never a fan of roots music until I started playing it," he says. âEven when I joined Blue Rodeo, I thought country music was just for right-wing Republicans. But obviously Iâve learned a lot since then, and after you hang out with musicians like those guys long enough you start to think that maybe just playing G, C and D isnât so bad."

Milchem still has a long way to go before his music becomes that simplified, although he says that working within one specific style is never a consideration. "My songs are really just what comes out of me. I never think, okay, I want to write a bunch of art-punk songs. Sometimes I wish I could do that, but I tend to just go with whatever mood Iâm in. I still mainly listen to experimental music, but for whatever reason I donât seem to write that way." Lyrically, Milchem trusts his instincts. Songs like "Privileged Tears" and "Pointafinger" pull no punches in making pronouncements on the state of society.

"Iâd say that most of the songs on this record are about hitting some kind of impasse in life. Sometimes the subject is me, and sometimes itâs someone I know. The opening track, âGloriousâ is actually about world events, and trying to find some light in the darkness. If thereâs any constant theme to this record, itâs probably that; no matter how dark a song might be, hopefully it has some light in it as well."

Milchem says that The Swallows will always be his personal creative outlet, no matter who else is involved. "Iâm going to keep making records and I know that five years from now Iâll still be doing it.â

HERE'S WHAT SOME REVIEWERS HAVE SAID ABOUT 'AWKWARD SITUATION': "...It's precisely (and passionately) executed, without ever sounding derivative or over-thought-about. A winning effort." EYE MAGAZINE**** You're having a bad week, and that's Glenn Milchem at the end of the bar with a light. "Might as well keep shining on," sings Milchem, the Blue Rodeo drummer who heads the side-project Swallows. "Might as well be glorious." Jerrry Garcia couldn't have put it better. Lead track Glorious is jammy, but the rest of the splendid, light-and-dark themed record is marked by power pop and blade-sharp lyrics, with some new wave and Police thrown in. Hear Vicariously, which imagines a chance meeting between Luke Doucet and Coldplay. Hear the Crazy horse of Soft Bomb, in which Milchem flickers as things continue to crash down. Hear it all." THE GLOBE AND MAIL***.5/4 "...the band's third disc is still an impressive release. Most notable is the guitar work. Milchem and Jonny James have clearly taken pride in the axe-manship. The plethora of well-planned solos and fast-fingered rhythm guitar is reason enough to listen." NOW MAGAZINE***
Yet another reason not to underestimate your drummer, Glenn Milchem of Blue Rodeo and occasional Holy F--- infamy comes back crustier and crunchier than ever on the third release from his fine solo outlet, the Swallows.
Left to his own devices, Milchem isnât so much about the roots-rock that earns him a living, although he and the current crop of Swallows â guitarist Jonny James, bassist John Borra and ex-Câmon drummer Randy Curnew â do engage in a patch of Crazy Horse-ish rambling on âSoft Bomb.â Generally, Awkward Situation is unpretentious, ramshackle geetar-pop of a reliably high standard.
âShadowâ recalls Bob Mould or the Pixies as channeled by Kurt. âPennyâ is terse nerd-punk of the sort youâd expect from a country where one can grow up listening to April Wine and Max Webster alongside Wire and the Buzzcocks. The comparatively dainty âOut of the Way,â meanwhile, is a more rustic approximation of New Orderâs cascading Manchester melancholy.
It all sounds like musicians revelling in the pure joy of playing loud rockânâroll, but Awkward Situation is full of slow-seeping melodies and sage lyrics - âItâs so hard to be naked / Everybody needs a human shield,â from âHuman Shield,â is one of the more affecting choruses in recent memory â that creep up on you over time and then bowl you over completely on the right occasion. Progressively more appealing and always more than it first seemed. 3 stars (out of 4)
THE TORONTO STAR.