Swoon (Prefab Sprout album)

Prefab Sprout, formed by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon, first played live in 1979, having been joined by drummer Michael Salmon. Songs that would appear on Swoon such as "Ghost Town Blues", "Here on the Eerie" and "Technique" were already part of their set by April 1980.[1][2][3] The band recorded their first single "Lions In My Own Garden: Exit Someone / Radio Love" on 25 February 1982, and self-released it on their own Candle Records. Their lineup expanded shortly after to incorporate vocalist Wendy Smith, and they recorded a second single "The Devil Has All the Best Tunes / Walk On" that September.[4] In a 1981 interview McAloon expressed a dislike of well-regarded songwriters such as Paul Weller, Nick Lowe and Elvis Costello, the last of whom he said he disliked intensely,[2] and he attributed the band's lack of success up to that point to laziness.[3] Prefab Sprout were signed by Keith Armstrong's Kitchenware Records in March 1983, after Armstrong heard their music played in the Newcastle branch of HMV he managed.[4][5] Kitchenware issued "The Devil Has All The Best Tunes / Walk On" and additionally reissued the first single. These releases attracted notice including laudation from Elvis Costello.[6]

After the departure of Michael Salmon, the band recorded their debut album in a 24-track studio in Edinburgh on a budget of £5,000.[7] It features session drummer Graham Lant, and was produced by fellow Kitchenware artist David Brewis of The Kane Gang.[8] The songs were written over a 7-year period,[9] and the album was titled Swoon, standing for 'Songs Written out of Necessity'.[10] McAloon mostly avoided the material the band had been playing live for the preceding years, instead favouring more recent complex material he felt would "only work on tape".[8][11]

The basic tracks were recorded in just one day,[12] and put the band under intense pressure. During a session, McAloon made a crying Wendy Smith sing two words over and over for three hours.[13] McAloon wrote piano parts for the songs despite being unable to play the instrument, and recorded the parts with the aid of drop-ins.[14] A synthesiser was used on several tracks, chosen for its sparse and refined sound.[15] Swoon was completed in August 1983, and the band was then signed to CBS for distribution[16][17] Graham Lant's relationship with Prefab Sprout ended soon after recording due to his disappointment at being given a flat fee for his work rather than a percentage of album sales.[18] In the months leading to the album's release in March 1984, the band performed live with a succession of short-term drummers. In December, they opened for Elvis Costello at several concerts.[4] Costello's championing led to the band being tagged as "Costello's little band".[19]

"Cruel" and "Don’t Sing" received advance airplay on Kid Jensen's Radio 1 show on 9 January 1984.[44] That month, "Don't Sing" was released as the album's sole single, ultimately peaking at number 62 on January 28.[45] A music video was produced for the song.[46] The band made two appearances on Channel 4's The Tube miming to recordings from the album: in November 1983 they were seen performing "Don't Sing" and on a March 1984 edition of the show they performed "Cruel".[47][48] Swoon was released in March, entering the UK Albums Charts on the 18th at its peak of number 22 and remaining in the charts for six more weeks.[49] Kitchenware boss Keith Armstrong had had high hopes for Swoon, remarking in an interview that it would "definitely" make the top five on the UK charts.[50] Although Armstrong was incorrect, the album's chart performance was impressive for a band who had never achieved a top 40 single.[51] The album was released with liner notes credited to Emma Welles, later revealed to be a pseudonym for Paddy McAloon:

"When they asked me to write an introduction to their recording, I thought - right, keep it short and sweet, say something that they themselves might say, like: Words Are Trains For Moving Past What Really Has No Name. These are Songs Written Out Of Necessity. That's Swoon. But that seemed a bit rock-ish, and they hate that sort of thing. Anyway it's now late and I'm listening to this for the umpteenth time. My husband went to bed an hour ago - not that he has anything against the Sprouts, but he must get up early tomorrow. I won't be joining him for at least forty minutes. That's Swoon."[32]

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[52]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[53]
Pitchfork	8.2/10[28]
Q	[54]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[55]
Select	4/5[56]

Swoon earned critical acclaim upon release. Melody Maker's Ian Pye commended the "magnificent" album's production despite its humble budget, and felt the songs had a "remarkable continuity" despite being written over a period of years. He commented "it’s hard to imagine any album topping its achievements in 1984".[7] Graham K. Smith of Record Mirror described Swoon as "lightly magnificent, a touch glorious, a little bit heavenly" and "the best record since Imperial Bedroom,"[57] while Joe Breen of The Irish Times called it "one of the most arresting and interesting sets released this year" and highlighted the "emotional strength" of "Cruel" and "I Couldn’t Bear To Be Special".[58] Jan-Olov Andersson of Sweden's Aftonbladet declared Swoon "without a doubt one of the best debut albums in recent years; a record full of intelligent, sophisticated pop music with elegant arrangements and artful lyrics".[26] Writing in Debut Magazine, Kathryn Nichols commented "a Prefab song does take quite a few listenings with its unorthodox arrangements and chord changes, but it’s fresh, interesting and certainly worth persevering with"[59] Dave McCullough of Sounds felt the album sounded indie and "would have been better with a big production and a big sound".[15] Writing in Smash Hits, Mark Ellen summarised the album as "marvellous stuff, though just a little pretentious".[24]

Amongst retrospective reviews, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic felt that on Swoon, frontman Paddy McAloon had not yet achieved the distinctiveness of Prefab Sprout's subsequent works, writing that "the problem is that he does too many things at once — the lyrics are overstuffed, and the music has too many chord changes and weird juxtapositions, as he tries to put white-funk beats to carefully crafted melodies" and as a result the album is "primarily of interest as a historical item, since it only suggests the promise the band later filled."[52] A review by Q was more positive, calling the album "one of the decade's great debuts" thanks to McAloon's "ingenuity and lyrical flight",[54] while PopMatters retrospectively deemed it "great indie-pop".[60] Trouser Press, meanwhile, highlighted the record's mellifluous, refined sound.[61] Reviewing the album upon its reissue in 1993, Select's Stuart Maconie considered the album the band's weakest, deeming it "full of entertaining ideas but more than a little tricksy and smart Alec", but felt "Cruel" and "Elegance" made the album "well worth owning".[56] Writing for Rockdelux in 1997, David S. Mordoh named "Cue Fanfare", "Cruel", "Elegance" and "Technique" as highlights.[22] "I Never Play Basketball Now" and "Elegance" were among the ten tracks listed in NME's "Alternative Best of Prefab Sprout" in 1992.[11]

All tracks are written by Paddy McAloon.

Credits adapted from the liner notes for Swoon.[62]