Swim Party Review [Performer Mag]

Swim Party
Pixie Dust on the Blood Range

Produced by Swim Party and Jacob Feinberg-Pyne
Recorded by Mario Quintero
Mixed by Jacob Feinberg-Pyne
Mastered by John Golden

Infused with dreamy textural guitar and punchy reverb-drenched vocals, Swim Party’s new album dips a tentative toe into the indie sea but never musters up the courage to dive. The precariousness of Eric Tremblay’s voice, which weakly channels Isaac Brock of Modest Mouse, is charming at the outset. As Tremblay wavers from note to note, the listener waits for him to take off with a sly smile …and waits…and waits… Pleasant anticipation turns to chagrin, however, as the vocals float endlessly in an unmelodic abyss. Tremblay’s guitars attempt to make up the difference, swelling into instrumental cacophonies that drown the vocals rather than lifting them out of the monotony. Worse are the painfully slow break-downs that halt songs like “Parliament of Rocks” and “Who Even Are You” in their tracks to drag the listener through a rambling cymbal-heavy quagmire before climbing back into repetitive verse.

“The Kids are a Drag” is one of the best tracks of the bunch, boasting the closest thing to a chorus and a tangible melody, which Tremblay sings with conviction. Rich harmonies give the song a powerful boost, endowing the vocals with some strength against a wall of jangling guitars. Instrumentally, the piece is beautiful, erupting into a cinematic mini-symphony reminiscent of Explosions in the Sky. Yet the song lacks direction, meandering from one disjointed section to the next without fully capturing the listener. One is given a glimpse of Tremblay’s vocal potential in the last song, “I’d Rather Be a Mountain King,” which finds him in a surprisingly low register. Here, Tremblay discovers his strength – the dry shaky tenor gives way to a strong smooth baritone, confidently riding each note. The overlapping layers of his voice undergo a hypnotic call and response pattern but stop there, interrupted by an assaulting battery of drums and spacey guitar. Tremblay’s voice disappears in the din with the exception of distant “ahhh”’s in the background. Thus, the song feels divided, half vocal-centric and half instrumental.

Though Pixie Dust on the Blood Range has its moments, the album tends to wander in an aimless storm of sound. The energy and diversity of Swim Party’s EP “Sewing and Blood” seems to have disappeared with the loss of former member Nadia Shihab, who left the band to pursue research in Turkey. Though he plays the guitar and sings, Tremblay is unable to strike a balance between the two. His vocals are simply unable to carry the sheer intensity of the instruments. Hope can be found, however, in the two strongest songs on the album, which provide a taste of what the band can and hopefully will become in Shihab’s absence. (Self-released) http://www.myspace.com/swimparty

-Brodie Jenkins