The Swimmers
People Are Soft
(MAD Dragon, 2009)

No need to worry about a sophomore slump from Philly four-piece the Swimmers. People Are Soft, the follow-up to 2008’s Fighting Trees, is a thick slice of shimmering pop, with more layered arrangements than their debut, and a hefty dose of atmospherics for those that like a side of ambiance with their rock.

There are lots of production surprises on the record, which keep things interesting throughout. On “What This World Is Coming To”, just when you think the song has run out of steam, it winds up and drops into a wonderful half-time breakdown, replete with hand claps, bass, and g-funk synth courtesy of Krista Yutzy-Burkey. Steve Yutzy-Burkey’s vocals on “Save Me” use some anticipatory backwards doubling before being funneled into a whirlpool of echo.

The only song that seems overly repetitive is “A Hundred Hearts”, with its nursery rhyme-like chorus: “If you had a hundred hearts you could try to ration out ‘em / But then one by one they’d break ‘em and you’d only be without ‘em.” Repetitive, yes, but so much so that it gets stuck in your head till you want to play it again.

The stormy lyrics continue with the dreary “Dresses Don’t Fit”, a brooding dirge set to a quick tempo. The chorus picks up a hopeful chord change just to slam you with the quizzical downer: “No, the dresses don’t fit / But they won’t quit until you’re gone / Uh-uh, the windows won’t lock / But people will find their way into your heart.” “Drug Party” also does a remarkable job of setting heavy subject matter over a fun sing-along. Fuzzy bass and drums—supplied by Rick Sieber and Scott French, respectively—are accentuated by distorted xylophone and vocals that intone, “Tell me that I’m alright sister / Pick me up and give me water… I am always outside getting sick.”

Two other lines from “Drug Party”—”I can settle into my own skin” and “I know I’ll learn to settle in”—are evoked again on the finale, “Try to Settle In.” That song is an audio massacre. The drums sound like they’re in another room, down a tunnel, and around the block; the vocals are delivered in mumbles; the whole song swings, throwing around its weight, until it crumbles and dissolves into a stream of fizz. The record seems completed when a dancefloor-worthy synth breakdown reintroduces the melody with church bells.

Even more so than the noise and effects, the melodies are astounding. The melodies hook you like earrings from the get-go. Opener “Shelter” layers three complementary melodies on the opening drive, and from there they proceed to empty out their bag of melodic tricks. I would recommend a little settling in or maybe settling down for the Swimmers, except that it might stunt their growth.

Listen: Various Tracks [at myspace.com]

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