Ahead of Swell’s 2026 European tour, Sean Kirkpatrick talks about revisiting *Well…?*, his distinctive drum sound, and the emotion of playing David Freel’s songs. Plus, painting, solo music, and what he’s listening to lately.
The San Francisco band Swell are heading to Europe as “Members of Swell”. Originally conceived by the late David Freel and Sean Kirkpatrick in San Francisco’s Tenderloin district, Swell became a cult name known for its cinematic, raw, and unmistakably melancholic sound.
For 2026, Swell is offering a Collector Series – 4 lathe-cut, limited edition 7″ records with never-before-released musical goodness. The first, released in February of this year includes two songs from Swell’s live set at The Royal Theatre in Victoria, BC, July 21, 1993. Swell was on tour with the band The The. From Monte: Band was DF MV SK and Niko Wenner. Nothing too sordid to report. Saw some Orcas on the ferry ride from Seattle, after soundcheck went to a strip bar called Monty’s on the ground floor of our hotel.
Welcome to ’90s Overlooked Underheard! An in-depth look at fifty underrated albums from the 1990s… Indie, Alternative, Shoegaze, Grunge, Punk, Lo-fi, Post-Rock, Math-Rock, Hardcore, Industrial, Americana, Ambient, Avant Noise, Hip Hop and more.
Now available for Pre-Order on Talitres comes the 30th Anniversary Edition of “41” by Swell.
Late March 1994 (The 22nd), thirty years ago, the Ricans of Swell exhibit their third opus, the magnificent 41.
Froggy’s Delight – Le Morceau Caché interviews Sean.
In 1991, I was designing THRASHER magazine at the time I was in SWELL. SWOLLEN Issue 1 was the first zine I ever made on the computer. I quit THRASHER to go on the first tour. Enjoy this piece of SWELL history.
This was a rare and special event for fans of Swell, a San Francisco cult band who haunted the peripheries of ’90s underground rock and gradually drifted away. It was part of a reunion tour, yes, but the inspiration for it was anything but typical. The members regrouped for a four-date West Coast trip to pay tribute to their late leader, David Freel, who passed away last year at age 64.
Band suffered the loss of lead singer David Freel—but with 300 unreleased tapes in the archive, it’s ready to ride a new wave.
For Swell — the post-punk pioneers who will play a special reunion show at the Independent on Dec. 5 in memoriam of late singer David Freel — their band origins can be traced back to a small, remote village in Spain, thousands of miles away from their homebase of San Francisco.
Welcome to ’90s Overlooked Underheard! An in-depth look at fifty underrated albums from the 1990s… Indie, Alternative, Shoegaze, Grunge, Punk, Lo-fi, Post-Rock, Math-Rock, Hardcore, Industrial, Americana, Ambient, Avant Noise, Hip Hop and more.
SWELL’s original members playing songs from those good ole bad ole days in San Francisco, in memory and tribute. Only U.S. Shows – First in many moons.
Swell’s Guitarist Niko Wenner and vocalist Eugene S. Robinson of experimental rock band OXBOW discuss their new album Love’s Holiday.
SWOLLEN Issue 6, the 2023 David Freel Tribute Tour Edition is now available as a complimentary download. The first Zine production executed by JDL since the first edition of SWOLLEN.
David and I used to joke about where we were going to have our ashes scattered. He wanted to be made into a bullet or dropped off somewhere in France : )
