'It Turned Out Rubbish': Why A Swayze & The Ghosts Needed A Second Crack At A Debut Album

Tassie rockers A Swayze & The Ghosts have just dropped their debut album to a wealth of praise, but The Music’s Album Of The Week, Paid Salvation, wasn’t actually their first attempt at a full-length.

Speaking with The Music ahead of its release, frontman Andrew Swayze revealed that they actually recorded an album shortly after they formed, but it’s a collection of recordings that we won’t likely hear.

"So funnily enough, we’d actually recorded a record - a full length - when we first started playing together, back when we were a three-piece. And it was really bad,” he said.

“We were just super high and drunk the entire time, and it turned out to be rubbish. We ended up toughing it out, and then re-evaluating what it meant to be in a band I think, and we took things seriously from then on.”

While writing and recording Paid Salvation, Swayze was sober and the resulting album is garnering a wealth of praise, and with good reason, given the amount of effort put into both its music and lyrics.

“For me, music and lyrics are equally important and I think giving attention to what you’re actually saying within your lyrics is ultra important, not just using throwaway lyrics,” he said.

“I’ve done that before, don’t get me wrong. There are earlier songs where I’ve sort of just used basic filler really, but I’ve been given this platform to explore and share my thoughts, and just speak up for people who maybe don’t have the same platform and also challenge people.

“I know that people are gonna hear songs that I have written and I know that some people are going to hate what I say, and I don’t care. I don’t mind if I’m offending the right person. It’s not really a problem to me.”

You can read the full chat here.