Swim in the Wild can’t make up their mind. Who are they? They’ve got too much funk to be folk. Too many melodies to be saddled as alt rock. SITW can sure bring it when they want. But is “it” belting out choruses or harmonizing around a mandolin?
The quartet at times summons the force of many more men on songs such as “Hey Man” and “ Alone @last.” Choruses hit with gusto and power. “BACK WHERE THE WINDS STILL BLOWING ALL THE TIME,” or something like that. It doesn’t matter. You’re lending your voice right along with the crew’s.
And between getting out your angst you can get lost in made-for-jamming tracks. “Mars" predictably, and with utter enjoyability, uses negative guitar space to create room for roaming lyrics and percussion. A bass line does the work on “Funk: The System.” This is a system I need to be a part of.
Then sometimes you can get both sides of SITW, like with “The Groove.” Some syncopated keys introduce the oscillating record that ebbs and flows between coffee house and Burning Man.
Sure, Swim in the Wild is erratic in genre. There’s no denying that. It’s also what makes them worth the time.
Listen to Swim in the Wild
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