Swim Deep ≈ Mothers ≈ REVIEW

Swim Deep’s second album brings the exciting reestablishment of the band and the introduction to a different set of boys. They’re still ready to make you dance but with a hugely different way of doing it. Mothers opens with the two, already well celebrated, singles One Great Song and To My Brother. The two tracks are easy to dance to with that one dance move you do where you mouth the words and awkwardly wave your arms about. They certainly set the overall tone for the album, however, the sound takes a side path into a much more chilled direction for Green Conduit and Heavenly Moment. Green Conduit definitely has Where The Heaven Are We lets go to the seaside and get f****ed vibes up until the ending where it becomes quite clear that this isn’t the first album and we’re definitely not at the seaside. Heavenly Moment is a song I would absolutely describe as ‘disco and chill’. The newest member of Swim Deep, James Balmont, largely provides the dancing synth sounds behind Austin’s Gengahr esque vocals. Namaste takes us back to the upbeat tempo and sounds that we were expecting from Mothers as we’re transported back to the 80s where everything was okay and perms were cool. I would describe Is There Anybody Out There in all my innate wisdom as a ‘psychedelic space love song jam’. It draws up memories of when you just start to fancy someone so they can do no wrong and you are completely heart eyes emoji about them. With this song you can also do a Peace fan and sing along with the guitar, which just makes a song ten times better. The next song recalls floating through space; which would make sense seeing as it’s called Forever Spaceman. Close your eyes listen to this song and you’re somewhere else entirely. I like to think of George Clooney in Gravity listening to this and floating through space just chilling. Next comes Grand Affection. It’ll make you want to be at a party with all your indie pals not going to sleep till the rest of the world wakes up. Imagination has the same tone of being stuck as a teenager and lets never grow up please. It’s a song I can imagine being the soundtrack to my teenage years as I walk down the road with friends while the sun sets behind us and the credits roll. Lanaikea, despite being one of the strangest words ever, is a song to sway to. It’s steady beat and vocals will help you get into that kind of a mood with the jazzy keyboard and synths providing the perfect amount of excuse to prance about if you fancied. And I googled it, Lanaikea has nothing to do with Ikea and is apparently the ‘supercluster’ that the Milky Way is in. Who knew? Next comes Fueiho Boogie, an equally difficult song to spell, but is certainly not a song to sway to. It’s fast paced and steadily builds with Ozzy’s subtle vocals keeping the tempo until the song turns into a disco strobe light fiasco that will probably result in some strange head shaking dance moves that would rival your Dad’s from back in the day. Caramelise is definitely not Fueiho Boogie. The melancholy piano opens the song but it isn’t a sad ode to somebody who probably doesn’t care. Caramelise sounds like that feeling you get when you’re surrounded by the people you love and are just perfectly content. Some soppy fangirl part of me really hopes that this is how Swim Deep feel following the release of this album *throws up*. Si Si Me Voy is a song that fluctuates between sparkly vocals with triangle(?) and strong guitars all while floating along smoothly. It’s a juxtaposition and I think is a perfect example of where Swim Deep’s sound is at the moment. It has the sounds of Where The Heaven Are We’s next to the extremes of disco in Mothers. Everything Is Possible is an optimistic statement in itself and the same can be said for the song. I can see it being a huge fan favourite and this feeling showed during the live shows with a huge amount of singing and hand holding going on during the song.

The album ends with the huge Hotel California. The single was released earlier in the year to eager fans and was well received. It has the disco glittery space pop sounds of Mothers but is easy to sing along to. I think it’s a perfect ending to Mothers and sums up what Swim Deep are. They aren’t the gangly boys of Where The Heaven Are We, stumbling through sets still not quite believing that the people were there to see them. They’re still gangly but much more put together. The Swim Deep of Mother’s and 2015 has a much tighter sound and know exactly where they’re going and what they’re doing. Producing an album that is so different to what was expected is a risk, but it’s one that certainly paid off. With their brave new sound and the loyal fans I call my peers; Swim Deep are ready to take on the world and turn it into a disco fuelled heaven.

WRITTEN BY HANNAH CAMILLERI

'Mothers' is out now.

Spotify ~ https://play.spotify.com/album/5lJBUgMwznGgm92AhAAsDE?play=true&utm_source=open.spotify.com&utm_medium=open

iTunes ~ https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/mothers/id1002421131

WOLF ALICE // O2 ACADEMY BRIXTON 26.09.15, REVIEW

On Saturday the 26th of September a busy Brixton was passed the torch and held host to perhaps the best new band in the UK right now. The atmosphere around Brixton and the venue was light and welcoming, the glitter smeared faces and endless streams of indie gig goers got the hype going from the moment you stepped onto the busy high street. Doors were at 7:00pm and naturally hundreds of people got there early to ensure their spot at the front. Some better known gig attendees included Scotchy (guitarist in Bloody Knees and I don’t know if the whole band was there) and Swim Deep coming along to support their mates. The queue was long and stretched right down the side street but moved quickly and once through the queue and the obligatory pat downs the atmosphere changed to something a lot more pressing. The buzz around the place left you feeling like your chest was being pressed down on by every person in the venue and you knew you were about to witness something brilliant.

After securing a spot near the front, New York band ‘Made Violent’ came on full of charisma. They played a small, energy fuelled set including songs from their debut EP of the same name. The crowd remained on their feet but you could see a few people around getting into the mood of things. After bigging up Drenge (the second support band) and Wolf Alice they left the stage, steaming from the energy they had just put into their small set. 

In the brief interlude between Made Violent and Drenge the crowd started to get really excited and after everyone in the venue sang along to the first verse and chorus of The Smiths’ ‘This Charming Man’ the lights dimmed and on came Drenge. Without even a ‘hello’ to the crowd the feedback started to blare and Drenge launched themselves into a sweaty, circle pit filled set calling on beloved tracks from their first album and tracks from the stunning new album ‘Undertow’. Highlights of the set have to be ‘F*ckabout’ with it’s blaring guitar solo and a crowd who new every word, and the set enders, ‘Nothing’ and ‘Running Wild’. The blistering opener to their new album made an equally powerful climax to their set leaving the crowd sweaty and hyped and me in need of water and my inhaler. After the Drenge set Wolf Alice hadn’t even come on, but it was obvious that this gig was going to be the most important and iconic of their careers so far.

Finally the time had come, the curtain had been pulled revealing amps, drums, guitars and the stage backdrop of their stunning artwork. The gold of the backdrop portrayed the mood perfectly as the band stepped on stage and the uproar of the crowd filled the beautiful old building. Without a word to the audience, yet again, Wolf Alice entered into the opening song ‘My Love is Cool’ other wise known as the hidden track at the end of ‘The Wonderwhy’. It set a mellow beginning for what would come after. 

Once the song ended Joel launched the band and the crowd into ‘Your Love’s Whore’ with its blocky drumming; and when it was the rest of the bands turn to send the whole place crazy as they reached the first chorus they delivered and the crowd returned the favour. Brixton erupted into a sea of arms flying in the air and bodies jumping into eachother. The excitement and atmosphere continued through out the whole of their set which was mainly composed of new hits from the album like, ‘Freazy’, ‘Lisbon’, ’Silk’ and ‘Swallowtail’ which offered Joel’s soothing vocals a small moment of sheer bliss for the whole of the venue to behold. The crowd knew every word of every song and sang the lyrics back to Ellie and the band like they had become the fifth member of the band and were urging them to play better and with everything they had. 

Wolf Alice, Brixton O2 Academy 26/9/15 (Photo taken from www.thelineofbestfit.com)

Each member of the band stuck to what they did best, Ellie keeping calm and composed in the middle of Joff and Theo throwing their guitars and bodies around on either side of her and Joel at the back commanding the crowd with his drums. Theo and Joff could be seen at certain points screaming the lyrics to ‘You’re a Germ’ (which appeared at the end of the set) into the dazed and emotional faces of the front row. 

The set included a few oldies like, ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’, ‘She’ and ‘Storms’ to which the crowd bounced and sang along to every lyric. The set eventually came to its climax of the last three songs, ‘She’, ‘Moaning Lisa Smile’ and ‘You’re a Germ’ and during this three song blast the band and the crowd became one in the energy they produced. Emotions ran high as they reached the end of their closer and as they left the stage a tremendous cheer filled the massive academy. But of course they weren't done yet. 

Wolf Alice, Brixton. 26/9/15 (Photo taken from www.thelineofbestfit.com) 

After a small break and pockets of the crowd chanting, “we want more” Wolf Alice returned to the stage, donned their instruments and banged out the final three songs of the night, ‘Turn to Dust’, ‘Blush’, and ‘Giant Peach’. The first of the three set the tone once more and Ellie’s superb vocals and the soft tones of guitar and bass left the crowd stunned and trying to take in as much as they could. The next song ‘Blush’ sent the crowd hysterical with people yelling the lyrics whilst welling up at the pure emotion being displayed through the performance of the song. Finally, the closer, of course, had to be ‘Giant Peach’. Arguably the bands most successful song, it provided the final adrenaline filled mosh that the crowd needed before they left. Near the end of the song, and in true Wolf Alice style, the crowd was blasted with golden confetti and cheers and applause broke out through the venue. Upon finishing the song the band thanked the crowed telling them, “You have no idea how much this means to us!” and hugging each other, full of emotion, before departing from the stage and ending what had truly been their most important gig to date.

After leaving the venue and waiting outside for my mum to pick me up I was greeted with familiar faces and the atmosphere of pure ‘wow’. This chilly Brixton night had forever changed the lives of Wolf Alice and most of the people attending for having witnessed such an amazing feat of showmanship and power. The gig as a whole was the most amazing night of my life and I’m sure many others feel that same way. 

WRITTEN BY TOM WILLIAMS.