Swim Deep [7/10] returned to hometown Birmingham this month to play an intimate gig at the Oobleck in Digbeth. It seemed like this gig was a test of the band’s new album in a live setting, and judging from the crowd’s enthusiasm at seeing their old indie favourites, it’s fair to say they passed.
The set mixed a couple of their debut album’s singles with new and unheard tracks, with a special encore of latest release ‘To My Brother’. The intro to the psychedelic new track was greeted with high pitched screams, and Swim Deep carried it off with equal energy. Frontman Austin Williams entertains his fans by buzzing around on stage with and without his guitar, while the rest of the band pull their weight with impeccable timing.
In fact, the entire show is pretty admirably put together, even if just under an hour long. The Oobleck was blacked out other than the trippy new projections, or for occasional strobes, which suits the set well. Slick pop songs like ‘Honey’ were delivered smoothly and went down even better with the young audience. However, there was a slight sense of feeling required to play them in the air. This seemed particularly problematic when the fan-favourite love song ‘She Changes the Weather’ was played mid-set, slightly hurried and lacking the vocal and instrumental attention it deserves. Despite the crowd-pleasing nature of whipping out so many old tracks, it feels like the band should prioritise their great new material that so clearly excites them, and their fans too.
