by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

This is the first solo album from Ride bassist Steve Queralt, the result of fitful opportunities to record between the ‘day job’.

Yet the fact that Swallow has taken shape over five years is an illustration that it means a lot to him, as he joins his band mate Andy Bell with a solo record on the Sonic Cathedral label.

Queralt is joined by singers Emma Anderson (ex-Lush) and Electrelane’s Verity Susman, who guest on three of the album’s nine tracks.

What’s the music like?

Beguiling. Queralt writes in the shoegaze tradition, like his band, but there is some wonderfully dreamy music here that puts you under its spell with repeated success.

After an atmospheric introduction, Lonely Town – headed by Anderson – is an early highlight, a dream pop moment of excellence that reaches the heady heights. Anderson appears again on the moody Swiss Air, with exhilarating widescreen production, while Verity Susman’s contribution is also a thing of wonder, a bold vocal backed with big guitars and spacious production.

Elsewhere Queralt complements the vocal numbers from the heart with some impressive instrumentals. 1988 holds itself with poise, a slower number that Queralt paces to perfection until it breaks out into a massive, drum-fuelled epic. A Porsche Shaped Hole has the sort of grandeur you would associate with M83, reaching for the stars and then floating seamlessly.

Does it all work?

It does. Queralt gets just the right balance of soft and loud, vocal and instrumental, slow and fast – the result being that the nine-tracks fairly fly by.

Is it recommended?

This is an auspicious debut from Steve Queralt, a starry-eyed gem that frequently reaches the celestial bodies for which it aims. It is a shame he has started late on the solo trail, but hopefully this will encourage him to take the plunge again without delay. Highly recommended.

For fans of… Ride, M83, Trentemøller, Maps, Beach House

Listen / Buy

Published post no.2,593 – Saturday 12 July 2025