Sword Tongue gets a Grammy nomination for ‘Bonfire In The Tempest’ EP
Sword Tongue (Photo by Jennifer Ryan Wilde)
Oakland alternative rock/darkwave trio Sword Tongue has received a Grammy nomination for “Bonfire In The Tempest”, a five-track EP released on July 3, 2025, and self-released by the band.
“Originally, this EP was meant to be more of a danceable opus with a trip hop flavor. However, after the U.S. Presidential election, we realized that our album had to carry a more specific message on the current political climate, on aging, and on transitions. We wanted to give voice to the frustration, the anguish, the strength, and the hope in all of us,” vocalist Jennifer Wilde says.
About Sword Tongue
Sword Tongue formed in Oakland, California in 2020, originally built around the husband-and-wife duo Gaetano Maleki and Jennifer Wilde. Wilde, a classically trained vocalist who has performed with the Oakland Symphony Chorus, has been a guest vocalist and lyricist for seminal shoegaze band Love Spirals Downwards.
Drummer/producer Dan Milligan (The Joy Thieves) later joined, completing the current trio. The brainchild of The Joy Thieves, he has quite the history co-creating, producing and remixing such artists as Chris Connelly, PIG and Consolidated, and members of such bands as Ministry, Stabbing Westward, The Rollins Band, Killing Joke, David Bowie, Marilyn Manson, Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails, among others.
Musically Sword Tongue blend darkwave, alternative rock, shoegaze and industrial elements.
The band’s debut EP “Shadows In The Shape Of Men” was released on May 13, 2020. Subsequent releases include “Into The Sun” (EP, 2021), “Taming The Night Wolves” (EP, 2023), and the single “Diamonds To Rust” (2024), leading to the 2025 EP “Bonfire In The Tempest”.
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