It's tough to stay afloat in today's music world. Up-and-coming bands are a dime a dozen and it's easier than ever to get material to the masses.
The sophomore release from Philadelphia-based The Swimmers (their first album, Fighting Trees, was released in 2008) is a solid, well-crafted release that predicts good things for this quartet. Chock full of slick, pretty pop songs swathed in synthesizers and odd, evocative lyrics, People Are Soft floats by in a blur at first but reveals deeper layers upon further listening.
Opening with "The Lucky Ones," the album ensconces you all at once in a sparkling guitar riff and energetic drums as lead singer/songwriter Steve Yultzy-Burkey sings, "To start again, we're the lucky ones." His vocals are warm and languorous, a nice match for the song's full harmonies and slow-building electric backbeats.
The album segues cleanly into "A Hundred Hearts," which pairs The Swimmers' lovely meld of swelling reverb, rich harmonies and creepily tender vocals.
This cut is a twisted little love song, with a swirling chorus and images of yanking out a lion's teeth.
On this disc, the band (comprised by Steve and Krista Yutzy-Burkey, Scott French and Rick Sieber) built a home studio from the ground up.
They recorded the material there by themselves, which resulted in a cohesive sound that, for its reliance on electronic textures, still manages to sound close and intensely personal (not to mention, extremely polished).
The longest song here is just over four minutes, and it's clear that The Swimmers do well in confined space ?- their best songs are short and deceptively bright, full of jangling instrumentation and thick electric guitar riffs.
Examples include the quick, triumphant burst of energy of "Drug Party" or the almost manic energy of "Give Me The Sun," accented with claps and New Wave-like bass.
It really sounds like The Swimmers are having fun with their material, pushing the boundaries of their sound and relishing that exploration. Between textures and tempo, no song stays static for very long, instead changing shape to form different beasts entirely.
On such a tight, inventive album, a few less-than-exciting moments do stick out. "Dress Don't Fit," for example, is a bit too repetitive for such a clipped runtime, while the languid pace of "What This World Is Coming To" takes time to warm up to after the punchy "Drug Party."
Still, as things paddle to a close with the swelling, bouncy beats of "Try To Settle In," it's hard to find fault with this short but lovely disc. On People Are Soft, the band finds new language to express timeworn feelings as varied as alienation and hope. There are surely open waters ahead for The Swimmers
