Swoon

The title is an acronym for Songs Written Out Of Necessity. The songs came from about seven years of writing, and McAloon mostly avoided what the band had played live in favor of newer, more complex material that he felt would only work on tape. The basic tracks were recorded in one day, and the album was finished in August 1983. The drummer was Graham Lant, who left after being paid a flat fee. The liner notes were credited to Emma Welles, a pseudonym for McAloon.

It reached number 22 in the UK, entering the chart on 18 March 1984 and staying seven weeks. The single Don't Sing reached 62 in January 1984. Don't Sing follows the story of Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory, and Dolby later named it as an example of the band's literary escapism. Cruel was covered by Elvis Costello on his 1984 American tour. Melody Maker's Ian Pye called the album magnificent, and Q called it one of the decade's great debuts. McAloon told the Guardian in 2013 that he and his brother called it Sprout Mask Replica. A remaster overseen by Paddy and Martin McAloon was issued by Sony on 27 September 2019.