Swing Kids was an emotional hardcore / post-hardcore band who were active in the mid 90s and were heavily influential to the scene at the time. Their members were also in Bread & Circuits, Unbroken, The Locust and Struggle. Their discography consists of two 7"s, a split 10" with Spanakorzo, a 9 song "discography" on CD/12" in 1997 and then a complete Anthology as a 12" in 2020. They also appeared on a number of compilations including *Inchworm's Food not Bombs 12" from 1994.
Swing Kids had an incredibly heavy-hitting sound that combined hardcore, punk and some art-rock elements. They are grouped together with the emotional hardcore of the 90s because of their distinct sound and spoken/screamed vocals, however I wouldn't necessarily call them "emo". They take all the best parts of hardcore punk and make them their own by using their unique vocal style, melodic guitar riffs, chaotic rhythms and interesting samples like the jazz song in the intro to "Disease". They also cover Joy Division's "Warsaw" and it remains one of my favourite covers.
Swing Kids was influenced by "art hardcore" bands like Antioch Arrow but added more of a heavy, punk influence to the mix. Swing Kids is one of those bands that is hard to compare to anything else because they really were carving their own path through the scene in the 90s. It makes sense that they are grouped together with 90s "emo" hardcore because they were doing something different but as I said above they don't quite fit that description. Regardless of how to describe their sound, they are are worth checking out if you haven't yet.
S/T 7" 1994 (Kidney Room Records, Three One G)
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