There's something strange about the Colorado-based band The Swayback.
It's not that the quartet - which will perform at RIBCO on October 13 - does anything particularly unusual or fresh with its music. It's that with a basic guitar, bass, drum, and vocal foundation and accessible songs, the band has a clear, distinctive, and authoritative voice. Through conviction, chops, and polish, the Swayback enlivens modern-, classic-, and hard-rock formulas - and influences and references - without really altering them. It's workmanlike in the best sense.
