"Penelope Swales is a unique Australian singer/songwriter and performer. She performs usually as a soloist but also performs with many of her colleagues in various line-ups. She is a quality performer who always wins her audience irrespective of their age or demographic background. She writes and sings about contemporary and historic Australian life developing great pictures of the issues and the experience of ordinary people. She has much to offer her audience and I believe she is a great representative of Australian culture."

- Bill Hauritz, Director Queensland Folk Federation, Woodford Folk Festival

"Full of earthy sensuality, poetic musings, lust loss and sex... layers of meaning...another engaging album from Penelope Swales"

                                                      - Sue Barrett, Rhythms Magazine, Australia
                                                               September 2007

Congratulations on another great record. It's am exquisite end to "So Lucky"

                                                                        - Carl Pannuzzo, Singer and Songwriter, 
                                                      Producer  "How dare we, who are we? radio 3CR

"Hey Penelope,

I've been listening to your record.  I was wondering if you were going to
give anyone else a minute chance of winning the coveted Joni Mitchell Blue memorial award this year?  Membrane is deeply disturbing - everyone must simply squirm when you play this live.  Having attempted (not nearly as successfully) to win the award myself a number of years back, I'd can only say it takes one to know one.    If you were hoping to drag us all along with you, I must say you've succeeded because your record makes me truly upset.  I just played Membrane 3 times in a row.  By the way, your guitar playing is great!

Holy f**k!"

-Evan Symons, Stepandahalf Music, Vancouver

Skin: Deep is Penelope's 9th solo CD

"I used to traipse around the place, having love affairs and singing about politics" quips Penelope. "Now I study politics and only want to sing about love."

Fans of Swales's poltical material should not despair. In truth, there is plenty that is political about Skin: Deep - Polymorphous Love Songs. "So Lucky" is the obvious track here, as it invites the listener to consider the ways in which we in industrialised democracies take our good fortune for granted, both forgetting the role previous radicals played in creating our freedoms and overlooking the fact that, as willing consumers, we play a central role in an economic system that creates massive inequity on a global scale. 

But there is also running through the album a deep chord of rebellion. At a time when sexual conservatism seems to be again on the rise, Swales is championing the individual  woman's right to explore, own her body and define the nature of her desires.  Skin: Deep ventures deep into the uncharted territory of human relationships exploring themes such as polyamory, jealousy, compassion, grief and confidence. The nature of loyalty and disloyalty, greed and generosity, and the often unspoken role that power plays in eroticism are all addressed with unnerving honesty and accuracy. Swales, now in her late thirties, has clearly lived much of what she is writing about, and brings an astute sensibility to the subject matter that younger, less worldly or less truthful songwriters fall short of. There are no ideals here, just bulletins from a life lived with passion and veracity.

Through 2005 to 2007 Swales has been taking a hiatus from touring while she studies full-time and helps care for an elderly parent. She describes this celebration of sensuality and courage as a retrospective of twenty years of exploring life and love, made at a time when commitment and responsibility weigh heavily. 

Swales is also known for her role as instrument maker, guitarist and vocalist with Cabaret-style folk band Totally Gourdgeous.

In concert, Isle of Man October '03