swim school, making sense of it all
Independent
swim school don’t sound like a breakthrough band. Their sound is already so tight, so classic and yet so fresh, and so comfortable in its spot in the indie music canon that it feels like it has to come from a band far more weathered. But no – and maybe it’s the bright-eyed buzz that runs through debut EP making sense of it all that sets it apart from the easy comparisons too. Rising stars doesn’t feel like a phrase urgent enough to describe swim school’s trajectory, and the release of making sense of it all looks set to send them soaring even further.
Wolf Alice‘s swagger and power saturates opening track Let Me Inside Your Head, Anyway is anthemic on the level of countless festival favourites, See Red is the EP’s grittiest moment and would easily slot into the new class of indie-punk doing so well – but swim school have packed what for many bands would be three albums’ worth of development onto an EP. Their range is impressive, but what’s even more impressive is the cohesiveness of making sense of it all, too. There’s high points and quieter points, points that are reflective and gorgeous, there’s a real emotional journey across just five tracks.
making sense of it all is immaculately constructed as well, each track magnifying what comes before and after it: Everything You Wanted is swim school’s most intense, raw moment and it’s beautiful, but even more beautiful next to the ethereally moody See Red that the band dive straight into afterwards. Every track packs its own discrete punch, and every single one is equally as much of an anthemic crowd-pleaser, in a different way – a ready-made live setlist? Just play the whole EP through twice!
Every melody is a hook, the vocal delivery is captivating, the production is impeccable – swim school shimmer as the music ebbs and flows between the verses and choruses. Put these in front of a crowd and they’ll enchant – and with the return of live shows, a lot of people are going to fall in love with swim school this summer.
making sense of it all is out this Friday.
