Album Review: Swim, Nightstock

In late ’80s Dublin, having recently signed to MCA Records, Swim released the Sundrive Road album – helmed by renowned Steely Dan producer Gary Katz – before going on to tour with Fleetwood Mac and Cher. Unfortunately, major label shenanigans – that hoary old chestnut – would ensue.

Fast forward to June 2024 and the band’s principal songwriters, Joe Reilly and John McCrea, met in Grogan’s Bar for the first time in over three decades. A week later, they were working on ‘Canal’. Included here, the tune finds Reilly sounding fresh as a daisy, even if the tune tackles heavy subject matter, with its lyrical focus on a homeless immigrant farmer.

Elsewhere, lead single ‘Tony’s House’ – inspired by Edward Hopper’s famous painting 'Nighthawks' – charts the peregrinations of a Gatsby-like character. ‘Intruder #1’ is ominous but optimistic, while ‘Daria’ is a lesson in restraint, even after 30 years of silence. And ‘The Train’ is a Pet Shop Boys-style epic that hooks you from the off, courtesy of its incredible orchestration and Gainsbourg-like vocal. More please!

8/10