There was a sense of understatement around Swapmeet as they took the stage at Melbourne’s Northcote Social Club. The Adelaide four-piece weren’t interested in forcing the issue. Their songs were given room to stretch, with guitars, shifting rhythms and Venus O’Broin’s vocals pulling the room closer rather than demanding its attention.
Formed in Adelaide in 2022, Swapmeet brought together O’Broin with Maxwell Elphick, Jack Medlyn and Joshua Doherty. Their early reference points included Pinegrove, Big Thief, Stella Donnelly and Julia Jacklin, influences that could be heard in the band’s fondness for texture, detail and melodies that arrived without unnecessary decoration.
Things had moved quickly for the band. Debut EP ‘Oxalis’ landed in 2024, followed by Swapmeet becoming the first international signing to Los Angeles label Winspear. Their debut album ‘Mount Zero’, released in July, gave the Northcote show its backbone and offered a much broader picture of what the band had become.
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Images Brad Kendell
