We Swim You Jump (MySpace) produces intricate, intimate pop jems that mix in elements of folk and are populated with detailed orchestration. Despite the powerful music pouring forth from each song on their self-titled EP, We Swim You Jump is dominated by massively forthright, in-your-face vocals. It’s not that they’re hard-hitting or edgy, they’re just ever present when it comes to being the most noticeable element in the song.
That would make much of the orchestration subtle. They don’t make it easy – you have to listen hard to hear the detail in the instrumentation, and in the case of We Swim You Jump, it makes the music that much more intriguing. It requires multiple listens. Little moments of clarity shine through and you’re like… Whoa, where did that come from!?
By far, the most ingenious tune on We Swim You Jump is the second track, “Sharks”. In all the catchy vocal hooks and melodic instrumentation, a moment of the aforementioned clarity bursts forth in the form of a brief finger-picked guitar. It’s stark, an oasis amidst the accompaniment. Then it’s gone, leaving you astonished, yet you’re instantly swept away by something else…
“Sparks Fade Out” begins with that style of finger-plucked guitar and the vocals, compiled in just the right way, give the song an effect the late Elliott Smith once cherished. It continues in “This Thing Will End”, which has another Smith-esque trait: a unique time signature.
Wrapping up with a rapid guitar strum in “1234” and a vocal hook striving to implant itself in your head forever more, one thing becomes painfully obvious; We Swim You Jump shows an immense amount of promise. This is a band that, in a brief five songs, totaling only 15 minutes and 23 seconds, has already proved themselves a force to be recognized and a band warranting widespread attention, requiring countless ears to listen and mouths to spread the word, and demanding, above all, to be heard.
We Swim You Jump: Sharks [mp3]
[audio:090223_we_swim_you_jump_-_sharks.mp3|titles=Sharks|artists=We Swim You Jump]
We Swim You Jump: 1234 [mp3]
[audio:090223_we_swim_you_jump_-_1234.mp3|titles=1234|artists=We Swim You Jump]
[CDEP, 2009]
1. Frames On The Wall
2. Sharks
3. Sparks Fade Out
4. This Thing Will End
5. 1234
