I saw SWIMM live in Tampa probably about 4-5 years ago. I enjoyed their on stage theatrical presentation. They made me feel like they went to bed in the same clothes they wore on stage (to give a reference it's not your typical office attire- lol). What I mean to express with this observation is that they felt authentic. Idc if you wear a white tank top or bring a crocodile pet onstage, to me it's all about are you genuinely giving me YOU in your performances. Billy Joel told us, "Well we all have a face that we hide away forever", in "The Stranger", but hopefully that is a lyric that is no longer relevant anymore so we can all just be ourselves in life and in our art. Also, they were very nice people who seemed waaay cooler than everyone else, but it was as if they had no idea of this.
I heard "Young Folks", by Winn Winn and SWIMM and it's full decades of sound. To touch on only some, The Human League / Pet Shop Boys influence was whispered into this song and this artist collaboration contorted it into a genuinely fresh sound. I think both bands that may have caused the influence would say, "If my song caused this to be created then I am so content with that". I actually think as each song is introduced into the atmosphere by an artist, the artist's job clearly becomes harder and harder, so a good song today is actually better than its predecessor no matter how much or little the influence.
One thing I was impressed by was "Young Folks" feeling like a river flowing, but one that seems slow and soft, but is actually intensely rapid and powerful. With this flow they managed to keep the tempo static, yet they pulled our senses faster and slower with the supporting instrumentation, controlling the emotions of the listener which is the goal of any good artist. I absolutely loved the echoing synths and breathy almost dueling duet vocals. The vocal combination in this song is gold and creates a fantastic listen. The mix and production are also great in that the vocals are literally smooth and silky with nary a volume increase at any moment. There's also a possible "infinity" ingredient to this track - (stay with me I had to just pull that from the air to explain the thoughts in my head). Somehow when the song starts and ends there's a brief matching synth that's nowhere else in the song.
This makes the song feel like it's intended to be an endless loop that connects the synth if played on a literal loop. Is this song maybe supposed to be about the young and old folks' circle of life that perpetuates within life - and it really just comes down to our human interaction being the most important function of our existence - and that's why they don't care about age? There's more to this than just the "Young Folks" lyric. Form your own opinion with a listen today.
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