When I receive a copy of something
for review and I have not heard of the band yet, I like to listen to the music
for about a week before looking for any information about them. That week
is a fun time of guessing what instruments are playing, how many people are
making the noise, where they’re from and what they might look like. My first
reaction on hearing the Swims EP was “Ah…
another mightily talented Math-rock three piece with drums, bass and guitar
being played at ridiculous levels of complexity… Hmm… the songs don’t sound too
shabby either.”
Seven days later and my week of
listening to the music minus any external influence inevitably came to an end,
and so it was time for me to write a review based on my conclusions.
Heroically, I turned to the internet to develop my knowledge of whom this
talented trio were and navigated my way across the treacherous seas of
information to the band’s MySpace, where a single fact had me in disbelief.
Apparently Swims wasn’t a three-piece
at all, but simply bass and drums. I sat for a moment, allowing my brain to
take in the idea that all the intricate melodies, the stop-start off-kilter
riffs, the complex interplay of high and low sounds was all being done by a
single person, and on a bass guitar.
Naturally I went back for an even closer listen.
Swims essentially come on like
a hyperactive two-piece Dianogah, or
a much less aggressive Hella, with
added moments of the sadly missed Faraquet’s wild runs and jazzy dynamics. The
interplay between drums and bass borders on the psychic, as pin-sharp time
changes and abrupt stops are dealt with effortlessly; as are the over the top
fills and embellishments both players drop in from time to time, just for the
hell of it. While the technical proficiency of
both players is undoubtedly jaw-dropping (the drumming is also extremely
impressive), the songs are not quite as memorable as those written by some of
their immediate peers. The band somehow lacks something of the absurd sense of
fun that comes with hearing a band like Oxes,
nor does it have the depth of sound found in a larger band such as Don Caballero, or the single minded
drive of Battles.
This is not to say that they can’t
write a damn fine tune when they turn their minds to it; ‘Beauty in Battle’ in
particular striking a good balance between the band’s trademark ultra complex
finger-tapped melodies and broader swathes of sound, while closing track ‘Knew’
neatly surmises the band’s style and intentions into one well-formed whole,
opening with some audacious interplay between the instruments and shifting to a
more spacious, simpler melody before fading away into nothing.
Essentially, whether you enjoy what Swims are offering will depend largely
on your enjoyment of math-rock in general. If you have a soft-spot for
convoluted melodies and jarring shifts in time signature then I would have no
problem in thoroughly recommending the charms of this EP. If not, you’d best
steer clear. I bet they fucking kill it live though.
-Kris Ilic