San Francisco, CA-based singer, songwriter, and guitarist Christine McCann had just finished her last album as part of the shoegaze rock band Columba Livia, and she was going through it. “I was beaten up, very depressed and feeling catharsis with heavy music all because of a stupid ol’ break up… I wanted to switch it up as I was getting out of that funk and create music that you could dance to, music with a touch of pop. 

What resulted is SWISS.: a guitar-driven sonic pivot born from pop sensibilities and pulsing with fresh energy. SWISS. gleams with an eclectic sound that pulls from the swagger of early Arctic Monkeys, the confessional sprawl of Angel Olsen or Courtney Barnett, and the cheeky, left-field spirit of Caroline Rose. And while McCann’s heavy-rock past lingers in the occasional haze of distortion, SWISS. leans into movement—a shift from the heavy-hearted to the dancefloor-ready.

McCann began composing songs from the first moment she picked up a guitar. While working in a pizza shop with a collection of artists in Los Angeles, the spark to create hit her all at once. “We would play guitar on my rooftop in Venice,” she recalls. “I knew a couple chords but I just immediately started writing songs everyday. It poured out, and it was relatively easy and I didn’t want it to stop.”

Hundreds of miles and a handful of years later McCann as SWISS. has played notable San Francisco venues such as Great American Music Hall, Bottom of the Hill, and The Independent, opening for bands such as Les Savy Fav, A Beacon School, and Foxtails Brigade. After working with co-producer and engineer Isaac Civitello, SWISS. plans to release their debut EP in Summer 2025. Be on the lookout for the EP and catch SWISS. at a concert near you.