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\n\t \n\t\u201cIt was just so natural and easy,\u201d says her bandmate Jack Medlyn. \u201cYou had an idea, and everyone else would jump on whatever instrument and fill it in.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cShit was crazy,\u201d O\u2019Broin adds.<\/p>\n \n\tThat\u2019s a sentiment shared by many who have heard Swapmeet since then. Their 2024 EP Oxalis<\/em><\/a>, which they recorded and mixed entirely on their own, is full of subtle textures that draw you in from the first listen. Delicate slowcore melodies blossom into full-on shoegaze freakouts, each song following its own mysteriously compelling logic. At this year\u2019s SXSW festival<\/a>, they were equally excellent onstage, playing more than a dozen sets with electric, unpredictable energy that got people talking all over Austin.<\/p>\n \n\tA week after those shows, which were their first ever in the U.S., Swapmeet stop by Rolling Stone<\/em>\u2019s New York office before heading home to Adelaide. The four bandmates \u2014 singer-guitarists O\u2019Broin, Medlyn, and Maxwell Elphick, and bass player Josh Doherty, all aged 23 \u2014 relax on couches and chairs, laughing at inside jokes and marveling at the view of Manhattan outside the window like any other friend group in a new country. (Elphick and Medlyn also switch off as the band\u2019s drummers.)<\/p>\n \n\t\u201cI couldn\u2019t imagine making music with another group ever,\u201d O\u2019Broin says. \u201cWe\u2019re just trying to see what the four of us can do together with a whole lot of delusional confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n \n\tFirst up: their full-length debut, Mount Zero<\/em>, out July 17 on the L.A.-based Winspear label. The album opens with \u201cI Know!,\u201d<\/a> the catchiest song Swapmeet have ever made, with a needling guitar riff and a tightly wound, restless melody. The rest of the LP moves with the same self-assurance, as O\u2019Broin, Medlyn, and Elphick trade off lead vocals and the band delivers one quiet\/loud knockout after another. It\u2019s only indie rock<\/a>, but it feels like magic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\tS<\/span>
\n\t\t<\/span>wapmeet<\/a> knew they had something special as soon as they started playing together. It was 2020, and the four then-teenage musicians were all finishing high school in Adelaide, Australia<\/a>, when they met. The chemistry at their early jams was \u201cfucking mind-blowing,\u201d says Venus O\u2019Broin.<\/p>\n