As London-based duo Swoone prepare to release their debut album Handcuffed Heart on 17 August, the pair is debuting the video for the cinematic and artfully brooding “The Bullet Never Kills”. If the sultry vocals from singer Siobhan de Maré sound familiar it may be because you remember her previous band, Mono and their alt-hit “Life in Mono”. Since the band called it a day in the late ’90s, de Maré has gone on to record with Cocteau Twin’ Robin Guthrie as Violet Indiana and, since 2016, she been putting together music with multi-instrumentalist Gary Bruce.
Opening with the unmistakable sound of a hammered dulcimer, “The Bullet Never Kills” purposely kindles images of ’60s spy thrillers featuring exotic locations and shadowy characters with questionable motives, something that Bruce was very keen to do.
“In all our songs I try to create cinematic musical landscapes for Siobhan to populate. I consciously chose the hammered dulcimer to invoke a James Bond coolness and cold war mystery.”
Creating a sense of subterfuge, double-dealing, and cloak and dagger twitchiness, “The Bullet Never Kills” is a sophisticated mix of ’90s trip hop beats and French noir all topped with Siobhan de Maré’s beguiling, breathless vocals. Despite their beauty, the lyrics themselves are tinged with sadness, inhabiting a darker place than is originally obvious.
“Lyrically the song is about a toxic relationship which has a long, drawn-out tortuous decline. Let’s just say the police were called. For me, it encapsulates Siobhan at her most honest and heartfelt. I also have a darkness in my past which seems to infuse all my music with melancholy.”
Enhancing the intrigue and claustrophobic tension of the song further, the video for the song uses clips from the 1963 comedy spy thriller Charade, starring Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn. The pair manages to find the perfect accompaniment to the songs’ often chilly, murky noir-ish feel.
“It seemed only natural to use an old film to set the music to. I was astounded to find this classic film, with such iconic actors and I hope our music does it justice. These are the timeless cultural references that Siobhan and I grew up with and still love today.”
With echoes of everything from Portishead to Dusty Springfield to Stereolab, the video for the hauntingly beautiful “The Bullet Never Kills provides the perfect entry point for the bands evocative, filmic take on ’90s trip hop.