WFHB Bloomington Community Radio
In a busted, musty house in Atlanta, where the basement flooded when it rained, the air smelled like mildew, and the landlord once tried to evict them for using the space as an “electronic rock band facility,” Sword II recorded the most ambitious, accessible, and electrically charged music of their lives.
Electric Hour, the band’s forthcoming full-length for section1, is a wildly catchy and deeply principled rock record. It’s about the beauty and terror of living under a surveillance state, loving people through extreme hardships, and finding strength in friendship and creative resistance.
Self-recorded over a 14-month period by the band – Mari González (she/her), Certain Zuko (she/her), and Travis Arnold (he/him) – the album marks Sword II’s first fully cohesive statement after years of working in a more experimental, song-by-song mode. Each member brings a distinct set of influences: Mari drawing from the emotional and sonic complexity of Joanna Newsom and Kate Bush, the grit of Lucinda Williams, and the drama of musical theater; Certain blends the theatricality of Rocky Horror, the raw energy of hardcore punk, and the playful psychedelia of MGMT; Travis channels the pop bite of Avril Lavigne, the glossy darkness of The Weeknd, and the layered intensity of My Bloody Valentine. Together, they’ve forged a sound that’s raw, unadorned, defiant, and grounded in real-world experience.
