Swiss Army – Self Titled

Swiss Army is the brainchild of Brandon Lehman, who is also the guitarist and vocalist for Mace Ballard, it started out as a solo outlet for compositions about his personal experiences, including his childhood, adoption and mental illness. Since then Swiss Army have expanded into a quartet and have been picked up by A-F Records. This is a project that has quickly gained pace from it’s humble origins, like an alpine avalanche they seem to be gaining momentum.

Once you get past the thirty second throwaway instrumental introduction, which to me seems to be a bit of a pointless inclusion, the six proper tracks contained on Swiss Army are heartfelt and melodic compositions. Swiss Army build impetus over the course of the EP, it seems that each track surpasses the one which preceded it until you get to the final track Due North. For me this is the strongest track of the seven. It catalogues the move away from a dull hometown in search of something bigger and better in a new environment, something that I, and I’m sure many others, can personally identify with. As this has impressed me more with each track I can’t help wishing that this was few tracks longer as it didn’t quite hit the heights I feel they are capable of.

Their are touches of punk, indie and straight up rock that makes this a intriguing and diverse EP, the end result is a solid debut which is worthy of investigation. Swiss Army’s self-titled EP was produced by Eric Downs, who also drums on this eponymous EP, and Chris Barker, of Anti-Flag. It is due out on A-F Records on June 3rd in both digital and CD format. The EP can be pre-ordered here.