“Rachael Dease threw us all onto our backs in a total I’ve-just-paid-for-dinner-so-let-me-have-my-way; way, barely moving except to grimace on the tense notes, yet completely commanding our attention. ”
Early on Schvendes mastered this art, and it is on this that they have built their now-considerable empire. Schvendes have won a bunch of WA Music Industry Awards, been flogged on Perth radio RTR fm, had support from Triple J in various forms, and have performed in Toronto and New York, at the Perth Big Day out and the Perth International Arts Festivals. They've also supported a bunch of their heroes and friends in the last couple of years including John Cale, Augie March, Ed Kuepper, The Handsome Family, The Dirty Three, The Mountain Goats, The Drones, Baseball, The Panics, The Kill Devil Hills, The Go Betweens, 67 Special, Kim Salmon, Brian Hooper, Tucker Bs, Tim Rogers and Tex Perkins with WASO, Low, Art of Fighting, The Devoted Few, Decoder Ring, New Buffalo, Holly Throsby and Youth Group. Following "The Scoundrel is Made an Outcast" and a period of steady gigging, Schvendes released their first studio CD, the "Turn Out Your Lights" EP in 2005.
This was followed later that year by the "Twice the Man" EP, then a year later a single taster from their album sessions emerged, "Small Mercies, Sweet Graves". In July 2008 their long awaited debut studio album "Sweet Talk Your Enemies" was released to critical acclaim, and marked the end of one journey and the beginning of another Their double A side "Lay The Noose/Shades of Grey" was released in early 2010.
"In Schvendes the strings; the cathedral shaped and sky bending strings euro;“ are vital. They add meat to stark song skeletons, they beef them up, make them effing huge and fat in the gut. Singer Rachael Dease threw us all onto our backs in a total I've-just-paid-for-dinner-so-let-me-have-my-way; way, barely moving except to grimace on the tense notes, yet completely commanding our attention. We were like, "Ooh! Okay" and went along with it. It was kind of scary, but also kind of sexy" MESS+NOISE
"Their dark country blues now knows where to leave spaces, and that cello goes into your brain, heart, and guts. It sits gently weeping, and counterpointing Rachael's honeyed pain. It has some seductive sexual need to it, and it's transfixing in the way, say, The Devastations can be when they slip an arm around your waist. A cover of the traditional In The Pines is similarly inviting and a little bit dangerous. Ok, a lot dangerous." DRUM SYDNEY
".. As always Rachael Dease commanded attention as, at times, she can be both Dorothy and the wicked witch. Schvendes attacked their tunes with plenty of vigour in spite of a stifling evening where lesser bands have been known to wilt. The studious playing of Tristan Parr and the often guttural charm of Dease make them the most obvious focal point of the five-piece, but it is the innocuous guitarist Ant Gray whose impeccable work should never be understated. Having already given the faithful a fabulous festive gift in the form of their faultless Small Mercies, Sweet Graves single, the band added another finely executed performance to their resume." XPRESS MAG
"Schvendes comes across like a female fronted Bad Seeds. Were talking Mr. Cave in his crooning moments here, with the haunting vocals accompanied by the mournful Rhodes piano lines. Shes Waiting has sinister overtones courtesy of mere guitar strums and PJ Harvey-esque vocals as it undulates from caressing you gently to kicking your sorry arse out on to the street screaming at you to never come back". BEAT MAG