Swordfish

What is it?  :  If you’re a fan of Midwestern underground rock, then you may be familiar with Swordfish.  Hailing from Michigan, the group has garnered acclaim as the next working-class heroes of emo from all over the map since their inception.  Rodia is slight, perhaps better thought of as a mini-album as opposed to a proper LP, but it packs a punch.  Nowhere is that more true than on the album’s centerpiece, “Wash”, a song that goes from first gear to forth in one fluid motion.

Why isn’t it on vinyl?  :  I am only speculating, but a few potential factors come to mind.  1)  The band’s imprint, Take This To Heart Records, is a bit of a boutique-style label in terms of output – one imagines that their vinyl offerings are limited, just as a function of their business model; 2) they did put out the album on CD and on cassette, the decision may have been to go all-in for the cassette as a cost/benefit calculation against vinyl; 3) not long after Rodia’s release, the band announced a hiatus, which in these troubled times typically means they broke up – if they’re not touring and building momentum, there’s not much incentive to invest in a vinyl pressing.

Why should it be?  :  For the same reason that punk and underground music has been pressed on vinyl since time immemorial (i.e. the 70s):  having a concretely physical manifestation of music like this is almost as important as the music’s existence for certain groups of people.  This should be on vinyl for the sake of every 15-year-old who’s having a bad year and needs a record to remind them that bad years are the norm.  This selection isn't a selfish one on my part – do it for the children.