Review of Swimming with Bears
Harrison Zeiberg
I'm not entirely sure why I like the Austin based band Swimming with Bears. If you asked me to summarize their sound in a few words I really couldn't. If you asked me what makes them unique, I'm not entirely sure I could tell you. That's not to say that they aren't unique. That's not to say that they aren't a good band. That's not to say that I don't actively enjoy listening to them. This band is all of those things. I just can't find the simple words to summarize it all.
For those who know me they know the somewhat disappointing fact that I don't usually listen to music released past the 80's. Most of my Spotify account, actually my brother's Spotify account, is used to listen to The Temptations, The Beatles, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, various showtunes, and a lot of Pete Seeger and other folk music. I appreciate the sounds a band has and can create over the sound of a single singer/songwriter that has a nameless backing band behind them, and I've found with more modern music more focus is placed on an individual rather than a group. Swimming with Bears is the band sound I've been looking for in modern music.
So how did this modern music luddite come across this new band? Unsurprisingly I came across them by accident. Whoever controls Swimming with Bears social media messaged the radio station to tell about some of their new releases. We as the radio station promptly ignored the message and many others like it from various bands trying to make it. Why should we pay attention to the random messages we get from bands we haven't heard from? We were woefully mistaken in that practice and it has been corrected.
Swimming with Bears does not have a deep catalog but even so I will choose just three songs of theirs to try to convey my appreciation for this band.
Their song "Keep Smiling" combines the perfect combination of an interesting, upbeat, and driving sound with critical lyrics about apathy and the hardships of living in a more and more consumeristic based world. This is a song where if you listened just to the music you'd probably walk away happy humming the chorus, and if you listened to the lyrics you may just have to stop and think about them for a while.
The song "French Girls" which was released in 2020 contains a chorus that I have not been able to get out of my head since I heard it. What really keeps me listening is that the lyrics are never dull, and it never feels like the band took an easy path out. The lyrics have meaning and although this could be described as a "dance song" it doesn't rely on a simple but catchy chorus to carry it through. It's not the lyrically most interesting of their songs but don't let it's dance song vibes distract too much from the impressive lyrical work.
"Shiver and Crawl" is probably their most haunting song, and maybe their lyrical best. Although it doesn't possess the same memorable musical moments as some of their other songs it is incredibly powerful. What this song means, what the intricate metaphors are again I am not sure that I could explain in a few choice words. What I do know is that this song shows off some of the best of what this band can do.
I said at the beginning of this review that I probably couldn't describe the sound of this band in a few words, so with the help of my sister Sarah I'll try to describe this band in a few sentences. They have a sound that is reminiscent of the best of the early 2000's bands. They have a full band sound in a time in music where new bands are less and less common. And they have meaningful lyrics that you can almost instantly sing along to and if listened carefully to you will spend time thinking about afterwards.
If you are looking for a new band to listen to, Swimming with Bears should be at the top of your list.
Rating: ⅘ Stars
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