“Birmingham boys making sun kissed noise” – a short and completely accurate description of this British foursome who go by the name of Swim Deep. I’m usually pretty good at scouring the interwebs for up-and-coming bands that are worth listening to, but for some odd reason, this B-town group escaped my radar. However, I finally got around to checking them out and I literally haven’t been able to listen to anything other than them.
Consisting of Austin Williams (vocals), Zach Robinson (drums), Tom “Higgy” Higgins (guitar), and Cavan McCarthy (bass), Swim Deep formed a while back after Austin and Higgy met in the frozen food aisle of a Morrison’s at which they both worked. Good ole Morrison’s, bringing people together one frozen lasagna at a time… A couple of random meetings later outside a strip club and on a dance floor, Austin and Higgy recruited Zach and Cavan, the latter of two not actually knowing how to play the bass (he knows how to now). Nevertheless, the four of them clicked and things have obviously gone uphill since.
Just this past August, Swim Deep signed to RCA‘s Chess Club Records, and with a headline tour in February and a debut album in the works, big things are expected from these Brummies who seem keen to escape the English city for the sunny state of California.
Escapism is definitely a theme that the band revolves around, not only in their lyrics but also in their sound, which has often been described as either “beach grunge” or “surf rock.” They sound like something along the lines of a Beach Fossils/Craft Spells hybrid mixed in with some ’90s rock, and it’s a combination that works so well. This girl here cannot wait to hear more from them because everything they’ve released so far is ace.
