French Kicks - Swimming

Genre indie-rock Publisher Vagrant Records External Links French Kicks Website

Vagrant Records has been the proud home of many now notorious indie acts such as Saves the Day, Alkaline Trio, Dashboard Confessional and Moneen. Naturally, I was excited to hear one of the newest release from Vagrant's French Kicks called Swimming. The album will be available in stores May 20th and contains 12 tracks of atmospheric indie pop.

Swimming's first offering 'Abandon' is a moderately psychedelic song that should sound fantastic live. Sporadically placed throughout the song is a clever guitar hook and translucent vocals that are layered and layered over again. 'Over the World' begins completely differently and comes into it's own for it's ambient like tones. The percussion carries the song and the guitars are not overly driven. The vocals are flagrant yet somehow obscured enough to keep the song's meaning elusive. 'New man' is one of my favorite tracks from Swimming. It's a song that derives its likeability almost entirely from its mood and progressive melodies. It does not dash or dazzle with pop melodies or a radio style sing along but instead persuades the listener that this is somehow endearing. Conversely, 'Said So What' is probably Swimming's catchiest track and enjoyable the same. Sticking to an already established indie sound, 'Said So What' escapes the constraints of traditional pop songs with solid vibes of nostalgia. It's one of those songs that will take you back to a place that once existed, but now only in dreams and memories.

'Love in the Ruins' is a beautiful arranged song. If the use of multiple sounds and effects is a dangerous recipe than French Kicks found the right balance with 'Love in the Ruins'. Without over embellishing anything they manage to create something that has no roots and the only way to follow along is by bass and drums. My favorite track from Swimming is 'With the Fishes'. The clean guitar tones have just enough grit to keep the sound driving but without compromising clarity. It's a memorable melody that again ignites nostalgic episodes from deep within. 'Sex Tourists' is another song that is hard to ignore. It comes in as Swimming's second to last song and could very easily be passed upon. It's got a solid sustaining beat and the kind of melodic symmetry that is a compromise between ambient gibberish and concise mastery.

Swimming is French Kick's sophomore album with Vagrant Records and it's a good one. Not everyone is going to appreciate this album for what it is(and isn't), but it undoubtedly represents the band as an ensemble of creative minds. Music like this takes collaboration that is less filtered and freer than what is traditional. Swimming is a good album not for its songs, lyrics, or musicianship, but because of what it takes to make original sounds in this day of age. Raw, nostalgic, and downright clever, Swimming is a triumph for French Kicks.