Cliffie Swan

Fusing '70s AM radio hooks with acid rock expanses, Brooklyn's Cliffie Swan used to be known as Lights. Featuring vocalist/guitarist Sophia Knapp, drummer/vocalist Linnea Vedder, and bassist Alana Amram, the project began in 2004, when Knapp met Vedder in an art supply store and the two began writing songs together and performing at parties. The pair teamed up with first bassist Andy MacLeod, formerly of White Magic, and recorded their self-titled debut with Espers' Greg Weeks, which Language of Stone released in 2008. Soon after, the band signed to Drag City and issued their follow-up, Rites, in 2009. Late the following year, however, the group changed its moniker to Cliffie Swan to avoid confusion with the Canadian pop artist known as Lights. The band's last output as Lights was a cover of David Bowie's "As the World Falls Down" for the charity album We Were So Turned On: Tribute to David Bowie. Knapp, Vedder, and Amram worked with Erika Spring and Hannah Rawe for their first album as Cliffie Swan, 2011's Memories Come True.
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