Swim Team’s debut, Holiday, is a fitting soundtrack with which to banish the dismal fog of twenty-sixteen. And who couldn’t use a smidgen of ‘90s lo-fi indie pop about now, amirite?
Holiday is an exuberant affair infused with bold self-reliance, bruised romanticism, and a palpable sense of frustration. The EP benefits from the energetic live recording as it captures the band’s tentative first steps, shaping their sound and aesthetic. It’s an authentic representation, the group happy in the odd bung note. The most important thing here is to be true to your school.
Writing and vocal duties are distributed among band members, this gives the EP a stylistic diversity and means you can never be sure which direction you’re about to be pulled. One minute it’s the dreamy Should’ve Just Said So, the next we are kicked to the kerb with brattish punk force like Blinkers, Current State. However, there is a golden reverb-drenched hue that gives all the tracks on Holiday a sense of commonality.
By George Hyde
