The ''Halcyon Days EP'' is the second official release by the English punk rock band

Sounds of Swami Sounds of Swami are a progressive rock/post-hardcore influenced punk rock band currently active in the United Kingdom, UK. They formed in late 2005 in Keighley, West Yorkshire, England. The band is well known for their eclectic mix of Punk rock ...

. After the success of their ''

Vent EP The ''Vent EP'' was the first official release by English punk–rock band Sounds of Swami. After several years of recording demos, the band finally entered the studio with Tim Gray (aka TimG) in Manchester. Recorded in two sessions, "Identity Cri ...

'', the band began work on their first album. After a positive EP review in an issue of ''TNS Zine'', the

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

zine started a record label

TNSrecords TNSrecords (also known as TNS and That's Not Skanking) is a DIY Record Label based in Manchester, United Kingdom, founded in 2008 by Revenge of the Psychotronic Man bassist/vocalist Andy Psychotronic, along with a personal friend of his, Tim B ...

and offered the band a one-off split record deal with two of their roster bands. The band reluctantly declined in favour of saving new songs for the planned album. Months later, the idea of writing and recording songs in a hardcore punk style as a one-off release came to fruition with three of the six songs being written in one session. The songs emphasised their more

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

side with influences including

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Minor Threat Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C. by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guitaris ...

, Black Flag,

Gorilla Biscuits Gorilla Biscuits are an American hardcore punk band from New York City, New York, United States, formed in 1986. The band currently consists of Anthony "Civ" Civarelli, Walter Schreifels, Arthur Smilios and Luke Abbey, and is signed to Revelatio ...

and

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk rock, punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, sa ...

affecting the overall sound of the EP. The band approached TNSrecords about the project in the run-up to their first album and co-released the EP physically on 7-inch vinyl and digitally on

iTunes iTunes () is a software program that acts as a media player, media library, mobile device management utility, and the client app for the iTunes Store. Developed by Apple Inc., it is used to purchase, play, download, and organize digital mul ...

. Both formats are a first for the band. To much surprise, ''Halcyon Days'' generated rave reviews on the underground punk circuit and gained high recognition from mainland Europe.Thornsby, Jessica: "Halcyon Days, Sounds of Swami" ''www.leedsmusicscene.net/''
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Track listing

Side A #"Briefcase of Ignorance" #"Lapels" #"Look At Me" Side B #"Bandwagon Hi-Jack" #"The Clue Is In The Title" #"Your Name Not Here"

Personnel

* Kurt Wood – vocals, guitar, percussion * Luke Yates – vocals, guitar, Percussion * Rob Gilbert – vocals, bass guitar * Matthew Wade – drums * Tim Rickaby – insert art, photography * Christopher Thomas – cover art

References

{{reflist 2009 EPs