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Album Review: Swim Deep – Where The Heaven Are We
Indie | Monday 5th August 2013 | Cameron
Album Review: Swim Deep – Where The Heaven Are We
When writing an album, lots of bands and artists fantasise wildly about the shimmering end-product of their troubles and toils. Swim Deep’s lead singer Austin had similar dreams when writing the band’s debut album Where The Heaven Are We, hoping to create a sound and general feeling that replicates a host of “tiny coloured stars beaming from inside a cloud, and they’re beaming out prism colours.” As is the way of life, most visions and dreams crumble into dust, but very occasionally some aspirations can live up to those high, often fantastical original expectations, and that is exactly the case for Swim Deep’s debut album Where The Heaven Are We.
Like a hazy, retro throwback, Swim Deep’s debut album has a nostalgia drenched, summery 80’s vibe to it that chimes colourfully throughout. Writing California-esque, surfer indie-pop via the very British, often rainy and non-coastal Birmingham, the Brummy boys debut album (after a lazy introduction track) sparks into life with the radiant, rocking synths on the ludicrously catchy, indie-pop gem ‘Francisco’. Signed to the London based Chess Club Records, the third track on the album ‘King City’ is in fact the first single the band ever released back in May 2012, and to this date remains one of their best. The fairground synths and oohing chorus sees the song trip over the edge of the bands classic indie roots and is an all-out brilliant pop number through and through. The next track ‘Honey’ shares this pop groove, highlighting in no uncertain terms that Swim Deep are very adept at creating universally accessible melodies and choruses for the masses to enjoy. I absolutely love the choruses emphatic and slightly twisted lyric ‘Don’t you scream in your sleep, it’s just lazy’, as it feels like the band are playing with the dimensions of generic pop, contributing less than pop-perfect lyrics to accompany the songs undeniably bright nature.
Bouncing away, ‘Colour Your Ways’ and ‘Make My Sun Shine’ are both cushy tunes that plod along with zest before the silky smooth ‘The Sea’ drops in time to perk everyone back up with some funky swagger, a killer chorus and some whooping oohs and ahhs thrown in for good measure. On ‘Red Lips I Know’, the band successfully explore a psychedelic, trippy side to their music that twangs away valiantly before slipping into the fantastic piano led ‘Soul Trippin’. Although ‘Stray’ is a bit bland, the album ends on a huge high with the cruising ‘She Changes The Weather’, a brilliant ending track that reminds us how good these boys can really be.
When Austin imagined creating an album that cushions the listener like a cloud and has all the colours of the rainbow pouring from it, I don’t think they could have expected the end product to be any more spot on.
Where The Heaven Are We is out today! (5/8/13)
To listen to the entire album, go to NME’s exclusive stream here… http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/exclusive-album-stream-swim-deep-where-the-heaven-are-we
To listen to a few album highlights, explore below…
Cameron Stanton @mydaybydaymusic and http://mydaybydaymusic.wordpress.com/
