NEW RELEASE
THE SWEAR, The Clinic and the Sane
It was December 2019, the week before graduation and Winter break, and Studio D was booked for a solo project for Elizabeth Elkins. The Blackbird Academy students already knew Elkins as part of the duo Granville Automatic and partner Vanessa Olivarez. Granville Automatic had just finished tracking a September project with the students in Studio A (Mark Rubel engineering).
Things gelled that week in Studio D. You could feel the excitement when entering the control room. What started as Elkin’s solo project suddenly turned into alt-rock band The Swear’s fourth record. (Besides being a guitarist, songwriter, author, and half of Granville Automatic, Elkins (featured on the cover) also fronts The Swear, which is known as “a staple of Atlanta clubs from the mid-aughts through the early-teens.”)
“Originally, I was doing the recording under a solo project called ‘Lights of Detroit,’ but then the original The Swear guys joined in (drummer Kent Aberle and bass guitarist Kevin Williams), and we decided that week to release it as a new The Swear album!” says Elkins.
The Swear also featured a new addition, Ethan Luck, on lead guitar, and backing vocal guests Chrystal Leigh (Sons of Daughters) and Kate Tucker.
“Everybody loved the session so much. What a great experience,” says Elkins.
The Swear’s The Clinic and the Sane is available on all streaming platforms. The record features seven tracks recorded by The Blackbird Academy students and engineered by Mark Rubel.
Granville Automatic’s new EP Tiny Televisions (also recorded with The Blackbird Academy students, Mark Rubel engineering) will be released on September 11, 2020. It is a companion piece to their first book, Hidden History of Music Row, available August 31, 2020.
The Swear “The Clinic and The Sane” was engineered and recorded by Mark Rubel at Blackbird Studio with the students of The Blackbird Academy. Mixed by Nick DiDia and mastered by Leon Zervos in New South Wales, Australia.
