“A Hundred Hearts”
from the album People Are Soft
2009
iTunes
Much is already being said about how The Swimmers are next big pop act, and after listening to their album there’s almost nothing that can be done to poke holes through their hype. There’s something in their layered but distinct vocals and catchy lyric-crafting that’s reminiscent of The Shins, if The Shins traded in their acoustics for creamy synth-pop but kept the emotional depth a distinctive lyrics. They’ve also got willingness to rock out and a particular brilliance at bringing these songs to great crescendos that build for exactly enough time: never dragging, never boring, but each one feels like a terrific capstone.
Right off the bat, “Shelter” is a terrific opening — strong rhythm, melodies that just dance on top of it, and great little hooks that build to an even better finish. It’s also got wonderful pacing: The Swimmers know exactly how to keep songs moving and catchy, and the song, much like the album, never drags for a second. Then, over the course of the next few tracks we get “A Hundred Hearts” which has the same strong rhythm, catchy hooks, and cascading, clear tones. The great thing, though, is that it still manages to bring something totally new to the table.
“Give Me the Sun” brings us a lighter, fun take on what The Swimmers have to offer, and it shows off their distinct talent for experimenting: the high-pitched riot calls on this song are totally unlike the vocals anywhere else on the album, but they make it work wonderfully. “To the Bells” give us a distinctly darker more reflective song, but not at the cost of either the driving rhythm or the great finish.
From beginning to end, this is all great stuff. Every song here feels four-square solid: well constructed and perfectly paced from start to cathartic final note. If you’ve heard the growing hype surrounding them, you can listen without fear that they won’t live up to it, and if you’ve never heard of them, you probably will soon.