The legendary Dan Swanö may be thought of as a ”metal god”—writing and performing as well as producing, mixing, and mastering countless such projects over the decades—but keep in mind that even by 1990, Swanö had already been involved with a variety of rock, hardcore/punk, and metal bands. In his own words, the reality is that metal is ”just one little tiny bit in the corner.” Further evidence of this fact results from one of Dan’s most obscure and unknown groups: SUBWAY MIRROR. Existing from approximately 1990 – 1995, this alternative rock outfit heavily inspired by acts such as Buffalo Tom, Mega City Four, and Ned’s Atomic Dustbin adds yet another impressive layer to Swanö’s amazingly wide-ranging discography.

Largely active under the name of O (:the circle), the quartet featured Dan Swanö on guitar and vocals, guitarist Peter Edwinzon, Velo Rytsy on bass, and drummer Fredrik Ohlson. O (:the circle) recorded four demos between 1990 – 1993, though none were widely circulated, and some were never truly released at all. The band’s only proper appearance was one track, ”Waterfall,” included on a four-way split 7″ called Volume One in 1992. After a period of uncertainty and inactivity, O (:the circle) regrouped under their original—and less confusing—moniker of SUBWAY MIRROR in 1994 to properly document their material once and for all. The result was an outstandingly catchy eight-song album that was nearly released by White Jazz Records (The Hellacopters, Gluecifer, etc.). Unfortunately, that opportunity fell apart, and the band quietly faded away… 

Having felt so strongly about the spirit of SUBWAY MIRROR and the quality of the band’s songwriting, Swanö painstakingly retouched the audio in 2019 and issued the material digitally in order for the music to be preserved and finally have a chance to be heard. Divebomb Records—also possessing diverse musical tastes despite being known primarily for metal—heard that Dan had expressed interest in seeing the work released on CD, and reached out to help make things right. Set for release during the summer of 2021, this self-titled effort from SUBWAY MIRROR will present Swanö’s restored and remastered audio for seven songs—plus the aforementioned ”Waterfall” as a bonus. The disc will be housed alongside a 16-page booklet including lyrics, photos, and a massive retrospective interview with Dan Swanö—apparently his first-ever regarding this particular niche of his career—covering the complete history of O (:the circle)/SUBWAY MIRROR. As Dan stated best, ”’The one that got away’ didn’t really get away in the end…”