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"I love it...well done—more please"
"J'adore ça...Tout à fait réussi—On en redemande!"
- Jurgen Gothe—CBC Disc Drive
(Swift Years' debut CD was included in "Jurgen's Hit List")
(Le Premier CD de Swift Years a été inclus dans "Jurgen's Hit List")
Joe's Report From the Afterlife Local traditionalists Swift Years offer another smorgasbord of musical stylings ranging from Celtic and Eastern European to jug band and bluegrass with their fourth release. This well-blended collection of 12 traditional and original songs is exquisitely executed thanks to the combined talents of guitarist Patrick Hutchinson, bassist Suzanne Ungar and Bob Cussen on mandolin and banjo. There's no lack of humour on this fine piece of work, as heard on Old Man Santo Had a Farm, an ironic commentary on contemporary food production done to the tune of Old MacDonald. And then there's the title song, a tribute to Joe Strummer, who sends an amusing message from the afterlife with a solid reggae beat. This is choice, quality stuff from this talented Montreal trio.        Martin Siberok   ~Hour Montreal ~
"Swift Years repousse avec virtuosité les limites de l'americana jusqu'aux musiques celtiquies et est européennes"
              - ICI Montréal -

"Crazed Balkan hillbilly music from local anarcho-folkies Patrick Hutchinson, Bob Cussen and Suzanne Ungar. Hotter than a plate of pierogis, cooler than the sour cream on the side. ****"
      - The Gazette, Montreal

"Swift Years could not have been a better choice(...) They leaped into their opening tune already glowing with musical heat (...) beginning slow, speeding up and finishing just short of breaking the sound barrier."   - Stephen Peterson, Halifax Chronicle Herald -
(revue of Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival)
Patrick, le guitariste de ce trio de folkores métisses (celtique, tzigane et américain), a bien connu le ska en Angleterre. À Montréal, il participa donc aux précursseurs Top Ranking dès le début des années 80. Et à maint projets... Comme Bob (mandoline, banjo) et Suzanne (basse) qui ont bourlingués énormément depuis la Hongrie- notamment dans le blues et le folk. En renouant avec des musiques populaires qui ne manquent jamais d'humour et de mordant- trad. et compositions, ces chenapans sont impayables
(voir leur reprise de La Banqueroute). C'est tant mieux leur enthousiasme rebelle est diablement communicatif! (r.vitesse)
                                                                                  RAD ZINE

"Méconnu irrésistible"
          "Swift Years est réjouissant"
          - Montreal Gazette-

SING OUT MAGAZINE'S REVIEW OF SWIFT YEARS' ALBUM "THREE", summer 2005:
The word eclectic does not even come close to describing what goes on when these three people come together. The common threads throughout the genres on display here are humor and great musicianship. Not content to relax or play anything safe, everything is done with break-neck energy and virtuosity. ...Diversity is the name of the game....band-composed tracks...(and)...plenty of styles of traditional tunes, ranging from Breton to Irish to Russian. Scotland's great son, Robbie Burns is represented, reggae-style...I would imagine an evening with this group would make for a fantastic experience....

"What do you get if a Hungarian gypsy lands in the Deep South and joins a Celtic band playing mandolin? Montreal's Swift Years. This trio (mandolin, guitar, bass) are equally at home playing bluegrass and jigs as they are reinterpreting gypsy melodies or writing their own comedic songs. What makes Swift Years unique is the humour they approach their material with - both the lyrical and the instrumental. It is blatant in the lyrics of songs such as "I Dreamed I Stopped Smoking" where the singer receives the gift of a pot farm, and passive in the instrumentals where you'd swear the musicians broke into wide grins as they recorded..."
       Brent Hagerman   - Exclaim! Canada's Music Authority -
Swift Years - Joe's Report from the Afterlife -
Flaming Nora Records One part Celtic, one part Cossack and one part Clash, that's the essence of Swift Years. The Montreal trio is tighter than Fat Elvis's jumpsuit, plucking and fretting and rollicking its way through souped-up traditionals and toe-tapping originals like the environmental sing-along Old Man Santo Had a Farm. The bouzouki-powered title track is an ode to the late great Joe Strummer, who set singer Patrick Hutchinson on a musical path, all those years ago. - Mary Lamey, - The Gazette, Montreal -

"Pretty sprightly stuff with a well-tuned ear for mischief (...) sauced and seasoned troubadours all. Mandolin, guitar and bass breeze seamlessly across musical borders (Hungarian, Celtic, Russian, East-European) with passports stamped in the blues and roots of North America." - Jamie O'Meara, Montreal Hour - Trio de folk (celtique, tzigane et amérique) à l'excentricité magique. Cosmopolitisme résume leur ouverture sans frontière. Déjà qu'ils-elle sont d'origines européennes diverses (Hongrie, Écosse, etc.), que leurs expériences les ont fait jouer blues, reggae-ska, folk et chanson avec bien du monde, que Montréal les habite, que leur virtuosité ne sert qu'à allumer humour et gouaille... Guitare, mandoline/banjo et basse sont les outils pour bourgeonner des trucs qui grouillent; telles La banqueroute d'Oscar Thiffault, des pièces traditionnelles ré-éclairées ou des compos inimitables de gouaille- Couldn't we?
                                                                             LE COUAC

Swift Years is the life of the party, ripping through a species of shtetl soul cooked up right here in Montreal. Unheralded. Unstoppable."
                               - Mary Lamey,
The Gazette, Montreal

Joe's Report from the Afterlife    [Flaming Nora Records]
Trois glorieux musiciens montréalais connaissent tous les requins des bars et des petites salles. Le premier, Bob Cussen, vénérable allumeur du bluegrass dès les années 70, tire sur son banjo, sa mandoline et son bouzouki comme c'est pas permis. Les deux autres, Patrick Hutchinson et Suzanne Ungar, complètent magnifiquement, avec guitare et basse, ce band de musique déglinguée qui réussitsans grands moyens à transgresser nonchalamment toutes les frontières du folk américain, de la chanson québécoise et des musiques celtique et tsigane. Ils font aussi un bien drôle de rub-a-dubet d'autres chansons sérieuses parfois très connues, qui, une fois déconstruites, font rire à pisser. (YB)
                                                    ~ ICI Montréal -

Accueil	ple Groupee	Biographies	Critiques
Disques & Musique	Spectacles	Fiche Technique	Contact

ACCUEIL	Le Groupe	Biographies	Critiques
Disques & Musique	Spectacles	Fiche Technique	Contact

"I love it...well done—more please" "J'adore ça...Tout à fait réussi—On en redemande!" - Jurgen Gothe—CBC Disc Drive (Swift Years' debut CD was included in "Jurgen's Hit List") (Le Premier CD de Swift Years a été inclus dans "Jurgen's Hit List")	Joe's Report From the Afterlife Local traditionalists Swift Years offer another smorgasbord of musical stylings ranging from Celtic and Eastern European to jug band and bluegrass with their fourth release. This well-blended collection of 12 traditional and original songs is exquisitely executed thanks to the combined talents of guitarist Patrick Hutchinson, bassist Suzanne Ungar and Bob Cussen on mandolin and banjo. There's no lack of humour on this fine piece of work, as heard on Old Man Santo Had a Farm, an ironic commentary on contemporary food production done to the tune of Old MacDonald. And then there's the title song, a tribute to Joe Strummer, who sends an amusing message from the afterlife with a solid reggae beat. This is choice, quality stuff from this talented Montreal trio. Martin Siberok ~Hour Montreal ~	"Swift Years repousse avec virtuosité les limites de l'americana jusqu'aux musiques celtiquies et est européennes" *- ICI Montréal -*

"Crazed Balkan hillbilly music from local anarcho-folkies Patrick Hutchinson, Bob Cussen and Suzanne Ungar. Hotter than a plate of pierogis, cooler than the sour cream on the side. " *- The Gazette, Montreal*
"Swift Years could not have been a better choice(...) They leaped into their opening tune already glowing with musical heat (...) beginning slow, speeding up and finishing just short of breaking the sound barrier." - Stephen Peterson, Halifax Chronicle Herald - *(revue of Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival)*	Patrick, le guitariste de ce trio de folkores métisses (celtique, tzigane et américain), a bien connu le ska en Angleterre. À Montréal, il participa donc aux précursseurs Top Ranking dès le début des années 80. Et à maint projets... Comme Bob (mandoline, banjo) et Suzanne (basse) qui ont bourlingués énormément depuis la Hongrie- notamment dans le blues et le folk. En renouant avec des musiques populaires qui ne manquent jamais d'humour et de mordant- trad. et compositions, ces chenapans sont impayables (voir leur reprise de La Banqueroute). C'est tant mieux leur enthousiasme rebelle est diablement communicatif! (r.vitesse) *RAD ZINE*


		"Méconnu irrésistible" "Swift Years est réjouissant" *- Montreal Gazette-*

*SING OUT MAGAZINE'S REVIEW OF SWIFT YEARS' ALBUM "THREE", summer 2005:* The word eclectic does not even come close to describing what goes on when these three people come together. The common threads throughout the genres on display here are humor and great musicianship. Not content to relax or play anything safe, everything is done with break-neck energy and virtuosity. ...Diversity is the name of the game....band-composed tracks...(and)...plenty of styles of traditional tunes, ranging from Breton to Irish to Russian. Scotland's great son, Robbie Burns is represented, reggae-style...I would imagine an evening with this group would make for a fantastic experience....





"What do you get if a Hungarian gypsy lands in the Deep South and joins a Celtic band playing mandolin? Montreal's Swift Years. This trio (mandolin, guitar, bass) are equally at home playing bluegrass and jigs as they are reinterpreting gypsy melodies or writing their own comedic songs. What makes Swift Years unique is the humour they approach their material with - both the lyrical and the instrumental. It is blatant in the lyrics of songs such as "I Dreamed I Stopped Smoking" where the singer receives the gift of a pot farm, and passive in the instrumentals where you'd swear the musicians broke into wide grins as they recorded..." Brent Hagerman - Exclaim! Canada's Music Authority -	Swift Years - Joe's Report from the Afterlife - Flaming Nora Records One part Celtic, one part Cossack and one part Clash, that's the essence of Swift Years. The Montreal trio is tighter than Fat Elvis's jumpsuit, plucking and fretting and rollicking its way through souped-up traditionals and toe-tapping originals like the environmental sing-along Old Man Santo Had a Farm. The bouzouki-powered title track is an ode to the late great Joe Strummer, who set singer Patrick Hutchinson on a musical path, all those years ago. - Mary Lamey, - The Gazette, Montreal -

"Pretty sprightly stuff with a well-tuned ear for mischief (...) sauced and seasoned troubadours all. Mandolin, guitar and bass breeze seamlessly across musical borders (Hungarian, Celtic, Russian, East-European) with passports stamped in the blues and roots of North America." - Jamie O'Meara, Montreal Hour -	Trio de folk (celtique, tzigane et amérique) à l'excentricité magique. Cosmopolitisme résume leur ouverture sans frontière. Déjà qu'ils-elle sont d'origines européennes diverses (Hongrie, Écosse, etc.), que leurs expériences les ont fait jouer blues, reggae-ska, folk et chanson avec bien du monde, que Montréal les habite, que leur virtuosité ne sert qu'à allumer humour et gouaille... Guitare, mandoline/banjo et basse sont les outils pour bourgeonner des trucs qui grouillent; telles La banqueroute d'Oscar Thiffault, des pièces traditionnelles ré-éclairées ou des compos inimitables de gouaille- Couldn't we? LE COUAC








	Swift Years is the life of the party, ripping through a species of shtetl soul cooked up right here in Montreal. Unheralded. Unstoppable." *- Mary Lamey,* *The Gazette, Montreal*