Swimmers

by Younghusband

Overview

When it came time to make their third album, Younghusband's Euan Hinshelwood had a trick up his sleeve. He wrote all the songs by himself and only played them to the rest of the band as they were getting ready to commit their parts to tape. This technique meant there wasn't a great deal of fuss or overthinking involved, and not surprisingly, Swimmers is the band's lightest and most direct album yet. Most of the dream pop and psychedelic trappings of previous albums are gone, and in their place is strummy, good-natured indie pop made special by Hinshelwood's pleasingly innocent vocals, the breezy hooks, and the lighter-than-air feel of the playing and production. It's an album that goes down easily; it sounds almost exactly like a soft shoulder rub feels. Listening to the songs spreads a gentle warmth through the speakers and the mood is unbroken by jagged tempos or big emotional moments. It's an even-keeled record that rewards easy listening, and if that sounds boring, the band makes sure that's never the case. They put enough care into the simple arrangements and enough tender feeling into the vocals and words that the record never fades into the background. The songs don't hit the listener over the head, they sneak in like quiet bandits and take up residence gradually. "Sister" is a jangling lost pop hit, "Translation" opens the record in lovely, chiming fashion, and "Grinding Teeth" adds some tinny drum machine and synth to the mix for one of the record's highlights. Mostly, though, Swimmers is a flowing, peaceful listen that doesn't need to be broken into small bits; it works best as a unified 35-minute diversion from the stress and struggle of the daily grind. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	06/14/2019
Label:	Opposite Number Records
UPC:	5053760048466

Tracks

1. Translation
2. What's Wrong
3. Modern Lie
4. Different About You
5. Sister
6. Grinding Teeth
7. Broken in Half Again
8. Paradise in the Rain
9. Sucker
10. It's Not Easy

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Younghusband   Primary Artist
Victoria Hamblett   Vocals (Background)
Pete Baker   Drums
Euan Hinshelwood   Vocals,Keyboards,Saxophone
Adam Beach   Keyboards
Fimber Bravo   Drums (Steel)
Joe Chilton   Bass,Keyboards
Harry Bohay-Nowell   Pedal Steel
Richard Jones   Viola

Technical Credits

Florencia Lucia   Photography
Liam Hinshelwood   Design
Pete Baker   Group Member
Alexis Smith   Mixing
Dan Carey   Mixing
Younghusband   Engineer
Euan Hinshelwood   Composer,Lyricist,Group Member
Adam Beach   Group Member
Bryan Mills   Engineer
Joe Chilton   Group Member