MOOD SWING interview with singer Brandon Chan.

Sydney has done it again, producing one of the most exciting new hardcore bands around that has caught a lot of people's attention. A side project of sorts for members of Legions, Distance and Phantoms looks to have developed into something a lot more permanent.

At what point did MOOD SWING form and how did it all come together?

The original idea for the band started around October last year. Tom (guitarist) was on tour with Endless Heights, and before they drove up to Newcastle for the show there, he went and had lunch with Josh (other guitarist) at Chickens Plus. They talked about wanting to do some new bands, and worked out that they had the same idea for one of them. They hit me up to sing a few days later and I was keen straight away. Later that day they were telling Tom about the band, and straight away he jumped in and said he would play bass. After looking around for someone to play drums, we eventually found Glynn, and that has been the line up from the writing of the demo up until now.

Would readers recognize the members from any other bands?

Josh and I also play in Legions, Glynn played in Phantoms and Jack Napier, and Tom plays in Distance.

How was making the switch from bass player to frontman? Is this the first time you’ve sung in a band?

The switch was SO scary haha. Playing songs and hiding behind a bass or guitar is easy, but when it came to singing and being up the front I definitely freaked out a little bit the first time we played. I still get nervous before we play but that happens to everyone. I've sung in a band before but we weren't good. I'll leave it at that haha.

In your own words how would you describe the sound of MOOD SWING?

I guess probably just straight up hardcore. When writing the songs, we wanted the band to be a fun band that people can enjoy and have a good time when we play, so hopefully that comes through in the music.

What bands are influencing the sound of MOOD SWING?

We didn’t really have any specific bands or sound in mind when writing the demo, but bands like Stop And Think, The Wrong Side, Rival Mob, Righteous Jams, Mental. Lots of hardcore bands past and present.

What would be a dream line up of bands to play with?

It’s always cool to play with international touring bands, but I think we get the most joy out of playing with our friend’s bands, whether it is in Sydney or interstate. Australia has so many good new bands and amazing older bands that we grew up with that hopefully we just keep getting the opportunity to do that in the future.

You guys recently released a 7-song demo titled “Endless Cycle”. How did the recording come together?

After we jammed all the songs a few times we hit up Elliott, who plays guitar in Legions to record us. He's done all of the Legions stuff to date so it was pretty easy to get the sounds we wanted out of it. We recorded all of the instruments one weekend, and then I went back and recorded vocals a few weeks later. The recording came out well and we are pretty happy with the result. These will soon beavailable in cassette form through Death's Grip.

You’ve already made the journey interstate to Melbourne to play the 50 Lions 7” launch, how was the reaction interstate?

The reaction interstate wasn’t huge, but that was to be expected considering we got on that show at the very last minute, and because the demo had only been out for a week or so. We only played a short set since Josh wasn’t going to make it to Melbourne in time, so we got our friend Tim from Warbrain/Thorns/Outsiders Code to fill in on guitar for us. He learnt the songs in a day and killed it, so that was great. It was an awesome show to play though; some of our favourite bands in the country were on that bill. We’re very grateful that Telltale Records and 50 Lions gave us that opportunity.

What’s in store in the foreseeable future for MOOD SWING? A new release on the horizon perhaps?

We’ve got three new songs written that we will be recording shortly for a split with our friends Frozen Over from Melbourne, which I believe will be released through Telltale Records. Other than that, we are constantly working on new material and are hoping to release a few more records before the end of the year. Possibly another split and/or a 7” of our own.

How can people get in touch or keep up with what’s happening in the band?

The demo can be heard at http://moodswinghc.bandcamp.com, we don’t have a Facebook page, so that is the main page that we use for everything. We’ve got some shirts on there now as well, and we always have our upcoming shows listed on the side there. For shows or anything else, you can email us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.