Ears Wide Open: No Swoon

Kevin Bronson on March 7th, 2022

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No Swoon is the LA-via-Brooklyn duo of Tasha Abbott and Zack Nestel-Patt, a pair of musicians with a knack for fusing dark and dreamy elements in their shoegaze-y indie rock. Take their latest single, “Wait To See,” released last week, for example: Sludgy, chugging instrumentation becomes the bed for Abbott’s sweet, soothing vocals, but the song continues to evolve as Abbott repeats the refrain “You’ll have to wait and see” over stirring synth and guitar parts. It’s a simple but deeply satisfying lyric, operating as both a self-directive and a tease. And for a line about relinquishing control, it’s delivered with impeccable poise.

“This song is about growing up,” the duo says of the song. “We’re talking to our younger selves who had very specific dreams and ideas of how our lives would pan out. But as we all know, the hopes and dreams we had at 15 are usually not our realities when we grow up. We could look back and be upset that we didn’t become who we had hoped to be, or we could relish the new ideas and new dreams, and be OK with where we are. This song is about how looking back now, you can see the path that led to where we are now, and how we wish we could tell our younger selves to be kind to who we will grow up to be.”

“Wait To See” follows No Swoon’s previous singles “Again” and “Beside.” All three songs will appear on the duo’s sophomore album, “Take Your Time,” due April 8, which follows their 2019 self-titled debut full-length. Abbott and Nestel-Patt recorded most of “Take Your Time” in western Massachusetts during the peak of the pandemic, with Abbott taking the lead on vocals and guitar and Nestel-Patt focusing on synth, bass and engineering. The record was mixed by Chris Coady (best known for his work with Beach House) and mastered by Sterling Sound’s Joe LaPorta. Like Beach House, No Swoon excel at building lush, layered sonic landscapes, but the duo welcome heavier guitar and bass effects that nod to post-punk influences. The resulting sound straddles the line between brooding and sublime — if “Again” shows their more brooding side, then “Beside” shows their more sublime side.

Abbott and Nestel-Patt originally hail from L.A. and Boston, respectively, but they formed No Swoon in Brooklyn in 2016. They’re currently prepping for gigs at SXSW and Treefort Music Fest, with an L.A. show arriving mid-April.

||| Stream: “Wait to See”