The Swords

The Swords Task was formed in 1999 in Portland, OR when two rings, the Icebreak and Slower Than would play songs and improvise jointly at the same shows. The collective dubbed themselves the Swords (“employed assassins of rock and roll”) and had been afterwards renamed the Swords Task. A self-titled, four-song EP shortly followed on Certainly Kosher, recorded only 1 month following the band’s creation. The Swords Task then continued two West Coastline tours, in addition to playing the South by Southwest music celebration and schedules with Stephen Malkmus. The group — Corey Ficken (vocals, bass), Joey Ficken (drums), Jeff Gardner (electric guitar), Evan Railton (consumer electronics, drums, keyboards), Liza Reitz (violin, accordion, keyboards), and Ryan Stowe (acoustic guitar) — released their 1st full-length, Entertainment HAS ENDED IF YOU’D LIKE It on Market Rock and roll in July 2003. The music group shortened their name to Swords and released their second recording, Metropolis, in 2005.