EP Review: Swimming Girls – ‘Existential Fears’
Swimming Girls have marked the monumental announcement of an opening slot on the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury with the release of their debut EP ‘Existential Fears’.
This band were formed by chance as part of a musical project, with the four-piece put together while studying at Bath and given the task of writing a song. It has snowballed from there into producing one of the brightest alternative pop bands in the country.
Swimming Girls bonded over their fixation of 70’s and 80’s pop culture, which comes across clearly in the sound they’ve adopted and is what has earned them mass admiration with successful shows in Bristol and London and an opening slot at Glastonbury.
It is very rare you’ll find a debut EP that has much depth and gloss as ‘Existential Fears’, this EP is a tale of two halves which perfectly highlights what Swimming Girls are all about.
We dive straight in at the deep end with ‘1 2 Many’, which has you hooked from the first note of the powerful synth, with this guilty pop song dealing with the loss of self-control in the face of inevitable heartbreak. ‘I Don’t Want To Get To Heaven’ follows and is a liberating anthem and combined these are built for large crowds to enjoy and sing out.
The second half of the EP is certainly different in terms of tone, but is as equally engaging and excellent as the first. ‘Holy Place’ takes the listener on a darker, hypnotic trip which tackles the highs and lows of a relationship, while trying to convey the danger with putting your feelings in someone else’s hands.
‘Pray In Silence’ closes out the EP and like the other three tracks it matches sonically, but we are taking even deeper as vocalist Vanessa explores coming to terms with the death of her father and how everyone finds faith when the grief takes over.
This EP has something for everyone, whether it’s in terms of the infectious sound or finding deeper meaning in the lyrics, ‘Existential Fears’ is a certain hit and is a great start for we can hope is a long career for Swimming Girls.
‘Existential Fears EP’ is available now on all major streaming platforms and Swimming Girls will open the John Peel Stage at Glastonbury Festival on Saturday, June 29th.
Words by Danial Kennedy