Adelaide’s Swapmeet are taking their first bold steps onto the world stage.
The four-piece met as teenagers in the early 2020s, and by late 2023, their debut single dropped. With that and an award-winning EP now behind them, and a debut at SXSW Austin on the horizon, they’re back with “I Know!”.
Revved up with gleaming, fuzzy guitars and energetic percussion, the new single blurs jangle pop, shoegaze, and alt-rock with a tongue-in-cheek precision that belies the songs off-the-cuff origins. According to the band, it was written accidentally, arising from an in-between practice jam. The lyrics alike arose pretty spontaneously too, without much over-analysing or fluff.
The single comes as Swapmeet sign to an LA-based record label, Winspear – making them the first Australian group to do so. They join the roster alongside the likes of Slow Pulp, Winter, and Wishy.
They’ve opened for international touring artists across Australia, including BENEE and Suki Waterhouse, and have shared the stage with the likes of Floorlights, The Belair Lip Bombs, Egosim, and more, and now, they’re taking the next step with an introduction to the world stage at SXSW Austin next month.
As part of our Up-And-Coming Australian Artists series, we caught up with guitarist, drummer and vocalist Jack Medlyn about finding success in the music industry.
Swapmeet’s “I Know!” is out now.
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Rolling Stone AU/NZ: How did music influence you in your early life?
Jack Medlyn: I think we all had some kind of instrument tuition growing up, and had access to strange collections of music curated by our parents. My dad had a USB with about 200 songs on it, about 50 of them being AC/DC songs. I also had an iPod with whatever random songs my brother had put on it. This was basically the soundtrack to the first 14 years of my life. I had a lot of music to catch up on when I finally got Spotify, so I kind of went ham listening to all sorts of music for a bit.
What artists influenced you growing up?
When we first started playing music together, we were all really into the sort of emerging folk/rock scene of 2021 – Pinegrove, Stella Donnelly, Julia Jacklin, Wednesday, Snail Mail, Big Thief. Black Country, New Road was a big one, and we covered “Bodys” by Car Seat Headrest a lot. We would learn a lot of our favourite songs together and I think that taught us how to structure our own music a bit.
When did you discover your passion for creating music?
I think we all landed on this differently – I didn’t know that Venus was a musician when I met them, I had just seen their film photography. I know they used to come home from parties and write songs then and there, using whatever chords they had just learnt that week from another song. Venus inspired me to start writing songs too at that time, and I think the same goes for Maxwell.
I would make lots of beats, chords, ideas, and Ableton projects, but I was sort of allergic to forming them into actual songs until I had the outlet of Swapmeet. We all helped to fill out each others’ songs in a way that made playing together really fun – sometimes if Josh had a good drum beat then I could play bass, or if Maxwell had a cool guitar part then Venus could write a whole song with it.
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What are some career highlights so far?
We are so so proud to have made our debut album in 2025 and excited to share it in 2026 – especially having signed to Winspear. The BENEE tour we just did was some of the biggest and funnest shows we’ve done. The Suki Waterhouse show was crazy for us too. But every year the Swapmeet NYE festival gets better and better, and that feels like the best yearly highlight.
Are you looking forward to playing at SXSW Austin?
Hell yeah, definitely. Incredible that we get to play on the same lineups as some of our favourite artists.
Tell us about your new single “I Know!”. What’s the track about?
“I Know!” feels like a poking out of the tongue. Making fun of those who hurt. Beginning to not care.
What kind of personality traits and values do you believe it takes to succeed in the music industry?
I’d say first and foremost comes perseverance. If you have a piece of art you want to make, there is always a way if you can commit to it, and for us we find we can make the art we want through good teamwork. So basically just friendly vibes and perseverance are all you need.
How would you describe your music to a potential fan?
It’s like a maximalist fun rock party where everyone is wearing designer clothes. But also you lock in for a sec and realise the music is kinda crushing and emotional. But then go back to partying.
What are your goals for 2026 and beyond? What can fans expect from you this year?
This year: album, tour, music videos, releasing a one-of-one Swapmeet crowbar that will be available to the highest bidder. Beyond this year, many more albums and music galore. And love.
