Hopping over the Atlantic for a little bit, Night Swims is the stateside project of singer and guitarist Michael Thomas. Conceived in San Diego in the middle of 2020, the group’s perfectly monikered debut album ‘Idle/Wild’ is an upshot of the environment and era that created it, at times wild and at times slower paced, melding together Americana and psychedelic rock in California at a time when the world was at a standstill.
The record pendulates between styles while weaving solid, epic soundscapes, like Doves managed at the height of their game. The group’s first single, ‘Neverless’, uses trombone to raise the listener up, ‘Rosé Pools’ favours a speedy drumbeat and distorted vocals to induce rapture. Equally moving are ‘Burlap’, ‘Hide Your Dreams’ and ‘Wild Things Roam’, which use the slower, Fleet Foxes and Bon Iver school of layered acoustic songwriting to raise consciousness levels and communicate a savage beauty. Lyrically, Thomas allows his audience a glimpse into his inner world, a world in which he contemplates authenticity, acceptance, forgiveness and non-forgiveness, pain and the human experience.
‘Idle/Wild’ was released on 11 February 2022, ‘Neverless’ came out on 4th February 2022 and latest single ‘After All’ got it’s own release on 22nd April 2022. All tracks are available to find on all streaming sites and Night Swims bandcamp right now.
Have a look below to find a luscious acoustic version of album track ‘Glass Animals’:
Edge of Arcady 