Culture
Gladden House Sessions 2017: Swarming Branch
By: Maria Meece and Clarence Thomas
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Columbus, OH-based Swarming Branch have been described as “the band you should to start listening to… right now.”
Andrew Graham, vocalist/guitarist/songwriter, has been expanding his musical palette since the early 2000s and as such, has been steadily gathering a devoted fanbase across Ohio and beyond with Swarming Branch.
For their latest LP, Surreal Number (Sofa Burn Records), the band made the trek to L.A. to work with producer Rob Barbato (Kevin Morby/Peaking Lights) and emerged with a wildly inventive and eclectic pop record. With the lyrical acuity of a ’60s folk hero and instrumentation that traverses comfortably across multiple genres, Swarming Branch has crafted a niche of their own.
The current lineup is evolving, but for their stop at the Nelsonville Music Festival it included Ben Ahlteen on bass, Lon Leary on drums, Kyle Kerley on trumpet, and Sharon Udoh of Counterfeit Madison on keyboards. Andrew and co. joined the Gladden House on day three of the Nelsonville Music Festival for a four song set and a chat with Josh Antonuccio about their newest album. The set started with a song from the most recent LP, “All I Want To Do Pt. 22,” leading into the song “Rock and Roll No. 61” which corresponded well with the #61 sports jersey that Graham wore to the performance. They continued with “Laid Back and Practical” and ended the show with the song “Like a Dan Shearer/Over Troubled Waters” from Graham’s former project RTFO Bandwagon.