Cloth is a minimal, alternative rock band made up of twins Rachael and Paul Swinton from Glasgow, Scotland. Playing shows since around 2018, their first record Cloth came out in Novembre 2019 on Last Night From Glasgow.
Recently signing to Mogwai’s legendary Rock Action record label (whose roster includes The Twilight Sad, Kathryn Joseph and Arab Strap), their new EP Low Sun was released in October, 2022 and was accompanied by a UK tour. Having been previously shortlisted for the prestigious SAY Award for their debut album, they wanted to explore new sonic textures and grander arrangements with Low Sun.
Cloth wrote the EP mostly during lockdown and feel that the tracks are at once bleak and beautiful, communicating both displacement and hope – emotions felt keenly by so many during that time. 

What They Say: “We recorded most of ‘Low Sun’ in the studio we built during lockdown. It was the first song we were able to use the studio for so it’ll always be quite special to us for that reason. For us, it brings back the excitement of having our own place for the first time – somewhere where we could really take our time to craft this EP, experiment with new guitar sounds and layer up vocals to our hearts’ content. The song itself deals with the euphoria that comes from finding someone whose presence is all you need; someone who can make any space seem full when it’s just you and them. It’s also about the scariness of being without that person and adjusting to being apart for long periods of time.“

Their Mixtape:

Cocteau Twins – Wolf in the Breast

This is one of our favourite Cocteau Twins songs. The soft jangly guitar and the way Elizabeth Fraser’s vocal melodies change the feel of the chord progressions are endlessly inspiring.

Beach House – 10:37 

This is beautiful, minimal rock music at its finest. We particularly love the percussive groove at the start which sounds like a child’s toy. There’s also something quite magical about zero-ing in on a specific time of day and dedicating a song to it.

The Durutti Column – Sketch for Summer

The Durutti Column are a band I (Paul) came to quite late. I can see why the enjoy such legendary status as the guitar playing of Vini Reilly is just mesmerising. I always come back to this track as there are so many intricate little guitar lines that I never tire of hearing.

Cat Power – He War

I (Rachael) heard this track quite young when I was just starting to discover music that I thought was really exciting. For me, this is lo-fi rock perfection. I couldn’t believe it when I found out it’s Dave Grohl playing the drums!

Sleater Kinney – Ballad of a Ladyman

‘Ballad of a Ladyman’ was one of the first Sleater Kinney songs we both fell in love with. We listened to them so much when we started out writing music for Cloth. There is so much to be inspired by in the way Corin Tucker and Carrie Brownstein’s guitar parts interweave, with Janet Weiss’s always-inventive drumming pummelling away underneath.

ABBA – Knowing Me, Knowing You

For us, ABBA is pure pop perfection. This song in particular has soundtracked so many long van drives to gigs. Even though the lyrics are quite heartbreaking, the chorus is so powerful and uplifting – a song that will be on every travel playlist we ever make!

Low Sun is out now on Rock Action. Look HERE for more information on Cloth.