EP Review: Swim Mountain’s If

After my first listen to If, the new EP from London artist Swim Mountain (otherwise known as Tom Skyrme), I found myself in a space carved out by past keyboard/synth-based influences and yet still listening to an artist very much rooted in the current alternative music trends. Each song on If has its own personality and, in turn, its own quirks reminiscent of various styles and genres. However, all of the songs on Swim Mountain’s new EP are tied together through his spacious and reverb-packed vocal production, making it sound like each vocal track was recorded in the center of a huge marble room. All in all, the EP is very catchy and easily danceable.

“Somebody New,” the second song on the EP, starts with a distorted guitar lick that immediately gets your head bobbing to its groove. Initially, I thought the guitar intro sounded like a synthesizer and was reminded of both the keyboard that opens “You Make My Dreams Come True” by Hall and Oates and the slightly muddier, bassier sounds of the keyboard in Stevie Wonder’s “Higher Ground”—great company to be associated with. Then the drums kicked in, and I instantly found myself swaying back and forth to the rhythm of the tight snare playing off of that same guitar lick. At this point in the song, the track takes on more of the rhythmic R&B/pop feel of Stevie Wonder, particularly his song “I Wish.”

The third song on the EP, “Without Sun,” differs dramatically from the poppy, danceable “Somebody New,” sounding instead more like an 80s synth-pop ballad. The way this track uses minimal instrumentation and production in the verse and chorus but then adds drums in other sections to create emotional range reminds me of the structure of Spandau Ballet’s hit song “True.” Both songs are very minimalist in the verses, allowing the space to be dominated by vocals and hints of guitar—or in Swim Mountain’s case, keys and organ—drawing the listener’s focus like waves on the shore, coming in only to move back out again.

“Youth” is another upbeat song but with a decidedly different feel from the more danceable songs on If. This song aligns itself more with that straightforward contemporary alternative music sound in both its production and its arrangement. The vocal is heavily layered with reverb, and the steady 2-and-4 backbeat on the programmed drums gives this song its up-tempo feel. The more rigid, more synchronized drum pattern of the song doesn’t give off the same instantly danceable vibe that “Somebody New” does. Yet “Youth” is the song on the EP that defines the genre that Swim Mountain finds himself in. The sound, style, and overall vibe of “Youth” align it with the alternative music genre and the artists associated therein, particularly Rich Aucoin and his song “The Other.”

Overall, Swim Mountain’s new EP, If, sits well within and expands the reach of alternative music. He not only shows his appreciation and knowledge of the norms of his own genre, he also expands his stylistic range by incorporating elements from other genres that have elevated synthesized music into the main-stream aesthetic in the past. If you are an alternative music fan, I bet you will find what you are looking for in Swim Mountain’s new EP.

To keep up with Swim Mountain, follow him on Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify.

About the Pop Culturalist Contributor, Josh
Josh Taerk is a Billboard-charting singer-songwriter, philanthropist, and entrepreneur who loves storytelling in all its forms. When Taerk is off the road, he enjoys finding the best pizza and wings, binge-watching shows like The Witcher, and reading anything by Christopher Moore.