ALBUM REVIEW: SWIM DEEP

swim

WHERE THE HEAVEN ARE WE
RELEASED: 5TH AUGUST 2013

Ahh, Swim Deep, we’ve missed your sparkly B-town grunge – it’s good to have you back. ‘Where The Heaven Are We’ manages to exploit everything fruitful that pop has to offer, and with Austin Williams delivering some serene vocals we’re whisked off into a dreamland of utter delight.

Like pals Peace – Swim Deep have a natural bond which holds everything comfortably in place, be it the rumbling bassline of ‘Stray’ or euphoric synths of ‘Honey’, nothing sounds like it’s been written to live up to the hype, it just feels like it’s come together organically. ‘The Sea’ drops in that crucial bit of romanticism – ‘Go down to the sea, and tell me what it is that you wanna be.’ The lyrics paint a romantic picture which is complimented by some light guitar work. The album leans back onto these emotive guitar pulls often, but we’re suckers for them… so there’s no complaints.

You could guess just by listening this debut album, that Swim Deep are the kind of guys who kick about in knackered old converse, baggy t-shirts and keep their hair at necks-length. Bubbling through the record’s washed out summer charm there’s a clear element of youth which comes out amidst the bouts of colourful pop. King City brings together an intro ghostly similar to The Vaccines ‘All In White’, with lyrics that wreak of teenage arrogance… ‘I wanna be everything that I’m not.’ Genius.

Just what is it we love about these charity-shop clad stars? Well firstly there’s the bags of character, but more importantly it’s the fact that they’re part of a larger group and without bands like this to excite and arouse the public into exploring new music where would we be? Someone told us recently that there hasn’t been a great British pop record in years… I guess we’ll just have to put them on the first train to Birmingham right lads?

Swim Deep were our Band of the Month back in April. To catch up on our interview with the band come over here. Tour dates for September below…

September
14 Newcastle, Think Tank
15 Glasgow, Oran Mor
16 Sheffield, Queens Social Club
17 Manchester, The Ritz
18 Liverpool, The Kazimier
19 Leeds, The Cockpit
20 Birmingham, Town Hall
21 Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
22 Cardiff, The Globe
23 Oxford, O2 Academy
24 Cambridge, The Junction
25 Brighton, Concorde 2
27 London, Shepherds Bush Empire

Loading...