Sword II – Halogen
Today, Sword II share the latest single from their upcoming album Electric Hour (out November 14 via section1).
“Halogen” is a tense, searching rock track that spirals through uncertainty and quiet urgency, a layered vocal interplay between all three band members, and a sense of restrained, glowing pressure. Lyrically, it confronts the paralyzing weight of moral overanalysis, questioning who you’re supposed to be, what you’re supposed to believe, and whether any of it even matters in a world already collapsing. The line “turn all the lights off / might accomplish nothing at all” draws from the anarchist text Blessed Is the Flame, a nod to hopeless resistance as still being resistance.
Sword II share: “This song is about not knowing who you should be or what you should believe; thinking too hard about what the right thing to do is. The world might just be totally fucked but we should just keep fighting anyways. Stop thinking so hard about things. Stop trying to analyze everything and be so specific about your ideology, and just do what you know should be done.”
“Halogen” follows the album’s first single “Even if it’s Just a Dream” which was released last month.
Sword II is Mari González (she/her), Certain Zuko (she/her), and Travis Arnold (he/him), and Electric Hour marks their first fully cohesive statement after years of working in a more experimental, song-by-song mode, with each member bringing a distinct set of influences. From tastes of psychedelia and hardcore punk to a unique sense of drama and theatricality, together, they’ve forged a sound that’s raw, unadorned, defiant.
Electric Hour was born from a place riddled with paranoia and tension. Its genesis immediately followed the FBI raiding the home of close friends – leading to a constant state of police surveillance on their street – and its recording space posed the constant threat of electrocution thanks to faulty wiring and a leaky roof. This sense of urgency and survival bleeds into the tracks, but despite this heaviness, ‘Electric Hour’ is endlessly inviting and replayable.The album was mixed by Sebastian Kinsler of feeble little horse.
In the band’s own words: “The title was inspired by the idea that we are in the era of surveillance technology, but also we imagined ‘electric hour’ as something powerful, a time for creativity, potency and revolution – ‘the time is now’ type situation. We imagined the ‘hour’ as the time a band gets to be on stage – one hour to make your point to the audience, to make sense of the situation facing humanity. One hour to bring into the physical world the music that resonates with people facing repression, increasing alienation, and violence. Basically, one shot to make the revolution. It’s very daunting because you only get one life, one hour. But our limitation is what shows us what is important, what is worthy of our time in this life.”
Sword II will tour extensively behind Electric Hour, beginning with shows this fall supporting julie and feeble little horse.
Sword II tour dates:
10/14/2025 / US / Athens, GA / Georgia Theatre *
10/15/2025 / US / Birmingham, AL / Saturn *
10/16/2025 / US / Gainesville, FL / The Wooly *
11/03/2025 / US / Los Angeles, CA / Lodge Room ^
11/04/2025 / US / Los Angeles, CA / Lodge Room ^
11/05/2025 / US / San Luis Obispo, CA / Libertine ^
11/06/2025 / US / San Francisco, CA / Rickshaw Stop ^
11/08/2025 / US / Portland, OR / Hawthorne Theatre ^
11/09/2025 / US / Seattle, WA / Neumos ^
* supporting Julie
^ supporting feeble little horse
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