Open Swimmer
Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom | SELF
Music
Press
Glasgow’s Open Swimmer release a new single on the 28th of February. The a-side, Sugar Bowl, is above in the video, and the b-side, Bending Trees is on Soundcloud here. There’s also a Miaoux Miaoux remix.
Sugar Bowl is innovative, eccentric and awesome. Ben TD, the band’s Aussie frontman has crafted some great songs, infused with a syncopated, confused sense of direction – strings of lyrics smash into one another like atoms in a super hadron collider, choppy drums and piano provide idiosyncratic rhythms to boot.
Backing vocals reminiscent of Edinburgh contemporaries The Son(s) add a harmonic edge to the scattergun approach of the tracks, creating a gorgeously contrasting double-edged musical sword.
Bending Trees, in comparison, is a relaxing ambrosian delight; driven by TD’s voice and permeated by a more chilled atmosphere it still treads the same ground as Sugar Bowl and pushes the envelope, albeit in a manner more suited to Emily Barker and the Red Clay Halo than the unique style exhibited on the a-side. - dauphin
Sugar Bowl delivers a folk melody line married with stripped down production, great harmonies, arrangement and sound. The dynamics are amazing, starting and ending with just vocals, in places using just drums. The other instrumentation is there only to augment the song rather than form its basis. This produces a very original feel to the track making it difficult to pigeon hole into a single genre.
This is Open Swimmers début single, what a great start, more good news is that their first album is already in the can and there are some more tracks on You Tube if you can't wait. - new single reviews
Open Swimmer take to the stage next with laid-back ease, bringing tribal toms, floating vocal harmonies and a Celtic air, regardless of lead singer, Ben Talbot Dunn having a strong Australian accent when addressing the crowd between songs.
The band play a delicate set which requires an attentive audience. Tonight Tut’s is very near capacity and, in places, fairly rowdy, forcing Open Swimmer and their subtleties into battle. Their new single, Sugar Bowl is delivered at the correct time, the fluttering a capella introduction, unexpected and silencing. The quirky tale displays the four-piece at their best, in particular Dunn’s vocal with an impressive high register and accent lilts leaking character into the lyric. Heavier guitar on this track assures any strays are captivated, this hold maintained for the last song of the set, again bolder with a feeling of grandeur in a final farewell before our final offering. - glasgow podcart
I arrive at the Arches to find Open Swimmer in full swing, a huge crowd before them as they are perfectly framed by the stone archway. And the best part is that they sound great too – a laidback, poppy mix of harmonies. Single ‘Sugar Bowl’ is worth a listen for its life and immediacy but the bands quieter moments are their strength and they look like ones to watch. - rave child
Discography
Sugarbowl - Single. Released by London label Eli and Oz
Photos
Bio
Open Swimmer began as the brainchild of Australian born songwriter Ben TD, whose eclectic influences of pop and folk music have lead him to tour the world, performing around Australia, Asia and Europe before settling in Glasgow, Scotland.
In Glasgow, Ben met three like-minded musicians in Scots; Richy Carey and Kirsty MacIntyre, and Swedish percussionist Martin Cathcart Frödén, each sharing a collective interest in creating a tight, cohesive sound that explores the boundaries of modern pop music. The result of this mélange is a progressive, almost Avante-garde pop record, recorded at “a pocket full of stones” studio in Melbourne, Australia with acclaimed producer Nick Huggins (Whitley, Otouto).
Having spent much of 2010 consummating their live performance to reflect the delicateness and power of the record, Open Swimmer plan to use 2011 as a platform to render them one of Scotland’s most forward thinking new bands.
Links
