Now that's fresh: The Swimmers

I recorded something for Blog Fresh Radio out of New York City last month and didn't realize they'd aired it at the start of April. Head on over to hear me chatter for a few minutes about The Swimmers on this new format online radio show.

You can listen to the show here: http://blogfreshradio.com/show/20070402/

My piece is about 23 minutes in -- even though they mis-christen my blog name (You Are Fire?), and I think I make up a word - surrealistically? Is that a word? It makes sense to me.

I've mentioned The Swimmers here before, they are a fantastic new four-piece band out of Philadelphia whose album Fighting Trees is an enjoyable offering from start to finish. You get alternating upbeat jangly pop with layers of keys and thumping drums, but also alternating tracks with these lush dreamscape lyrics and swirly guitars that almost invoke that feeling of floating above yourself, watching the surreal situation below.

Why do they sound like this? Check this ace backstory:

The band itself was started by Steve Yutzy-Burkey after he read a surreal, dreamlike short story called “The Swimmer” from 1964, written by John Cheever. What I know of this story is that the lines between reality and dreams become blurred for a fellow who decides to literally swim home from a cocktail party through a series of neighbors pools in suburbia. Therefore, the album is a complete concept experience where you can read the short story, listen to the collection of songs as a whole, and feel uniquely satisfied in the coherence. The same feeling from the short story of dreamy drifting, and a recurring water/drowning theme, definitely bleeds over into the lyrical content of this album and I love it.

You can listen to their entire album streaming at theswimmers.com in anticipation of the Spring release. Here’s the song I contributed to the radio show -- I had a hard time picking which song from the album to play because all the tunes lay side-by-side so nicely to make up the whole, and all are great.

Pocket Full Of Gold - The Swimmers

That interview was a phone-in, and I really enjoyed the process. I am also available to talk with you about music on the phone on a one-to-one basis for the low price of $1.95 a minute. Ha.

Happiness is so cheap.