Deeming their first night of this particular shortened tour a ‘nervy one’ in Manchester, B-Town five piece Swim Deep seemed to shake off these nerves and jitters for an energetic and somewhat crazy performance in North London’s Electrowerkz.
Support came from Leeds-based indie pop band Vitamin who were newcomers to London and provided a joyous/feel good set up for the main event. This was with a string of instantly catchy tracks which thanks to a charismatic frontman and softened, rhythmic guitar sounds seemed to ignite a bit of a spark in the audience.
With Swim Deep’s eventual entrance onto the stage amidst smoke and vibrantly coloured lighting, frontman Austin emerged with a single maraca and the crowd were ecstatic. He wasted no time communicating to the them that they would ‘get onto the honeys’ as they began with the last track off of their forthcoming new record which in its 7 or 8 minute nature blew the minds of several in the audience with its psychedelic or galactic feel which was coupled with a crescendo of all sorts of sounds. As promised, they immediately reverted back to the first record (‘Where the Heaven Are We’ (2013)) with their hit track ‘Honey’, introduced by bassist Cavan, and then ‘Red Lips I know’. Both tracks were met with equal enthusiasm and were embraced by the crowd as barely a soul in the small Electrowerkz venue wasn't bellowing out ‘don’t just dream in your sleep, it’s just lazy’ on first song ‘Honey’.
The middle part of the relatively short 40/45 minute set featured 2 new songs which weren't particularly well-delivered by frontman Austin but his energy and enthusiasm was to be admired and sought after. This was carried on into fan favourites 'Francisco' and 'She Changes The Weather' with the latter of the two's signature piano intro and its dreamy, gentle tone sending the crowd into a state of delirium and delight. The initial conclusion of the main set came with the band’s celebrated hit ‘King City’ which with its instant familiarity to any Swim Deep fan sent the crowd into a chaotic, frenzied state to finish the provisional set.
As the band left the stage and the crowd began to chant ‘encore, encore…’, their calls were answered as Swim Deep returned on stage barely five minutes after leaving. Their encore and end to the overall set was their new single ‘To My Brother’ which was perhaps the second most well-received track of the night (behind ‘King City’) as its acid house, 80’s synth pop sound rippled through the Electrowerkz venue and the crowd had nothing to do other than sing along in shear enjoyment. The five-piece left with Austin inviting drummer and Saint Lauren heartthrob Zach Robinson onto his back to disappear off stage with the rest of the band.
With the large success of dream-pop first record ‘Where the Heaven Are We’, Swim Deep may struggle to reach the same heights with the forthcoming release of their second record. However, their existence as a thoroughly close and loveable band who with a wonderfully exuberant frontman (Austin Williams) contributing to their success as live act, means there is still a good chance they can hold their own in the current alternative music scene.
The middle part of the relatively short 40/45 minute set featured 2 new songs which weren't particularly well-delivered by frontman Austin but his energy and enthusiasm was to be admired and sought after. This was carried on into fan favourites 'Francisco' and 'She Changes The Weather' with the latter of the two's signature piano intro and its dreamy, gentle tone sending the crowd into a state of delirium and delight. The initial conclusion of the main set came with the band’s celebrated hit ‘King City’ which with its instant familiarity to any Swim Deep fan sent the crowd into a chaotic, frenzied state to finish the provisional set.
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