Swamp Music Players’ new EP Hear It on CN2 time-warps you into a dusty Southern roadside bar, where the jukebox still works on quarters and the beer is cold enough to hurt your teeth. Dropping August 1st, 2025, this Victoria, Canada outfit teams up with Virginia-born Americana craftsman Joseph Gearheart and Hollywood vocalist Sugar Parks, cooking up a concoction of swamp rock grit and cosmic American vibes, bringing both the vintage and right-now. Recorded live on Vancouver Island with real plate reverb—none of that digital fakery—this record’s got old-school bones and new-school swagger.
The opener, “Crowd Pleaser,” struts in with shimmering acoustic strums, a low gravelly lead vocal, and sly electric riffs. When the chorus kicks, the drums get busier, the guitars grind, and Parks’ high, playful harmonies slip in. While it worships the land of the free, it roasts the American spectacle and all its rockets zooming into the sky, propaganda, and all that. It’s no wonder filmmaker Benjamin Combes used it as the anthem for Hopkins, the cocky anti-hero of Commando Ninja 2: Invasion America. The track wears its patriotism and satire like a double-breasted suit.
Then there’s “Warrior,” sliding in with slow, swampy drums and fuzzy, shimmering guitars, grooving hypnotically, getting under your skin, making you nod your head along. Meanwhile, the charismatic vocals, delivered with a contemplative tone, stick like campfire smoke. The song’s vintage plate-reverb treatment, split between cold-rolled steel for the snare and stainless steel for harmonies, makes the whole thing sound like it was unearthed from a lost 1970s session tape. You will find yourself memorizing the lines and hitting repeat just to sing along once more.
Hear It on CN2 is a re-release of two songs coming together as an EP, posted as one on YouTube. But beyond that, it’s a cultural snapshot of 2025’s contradictions. Check it out on YouTube.
STAY IN TOUCH:
FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | TWITTER | SPOTIFY | BANDCAMP | TIKTOK | WEBSITE | YOUTUBE
Review by: Naomi Joan