Standout albums
6 August 2023
Band: SWIMWEAR DEPARTMENT
Who: 4 kooky indies from Houston
“We play rock and roll exclusively about swimming
pools and shopping malls. It’s conceptual.”
New album: THE POOLEST OF THE MALL.
“It’s their sophomore LP. Recorded with Grammy-winning producer Steve Christensen.
The 10 tracks discuss only two topics: swimming pools and shopping malls. Although
the themes initially appear whimsical or even trivial on the surface, Swimwear Department skillfully sculpts experiences laden with emotional depth and profundity.”
“Several of the new songs are purely silly. There are elements of the B-52s,
Beastie Boys, The Strokes, and The Dead Milkmen in their sound – but absurdity is still
truth, even if it’s coming through a distorted theremin. This daring dance between the sober and the ridiculous is mirrored visually in the album’s cover art – a striking diptych conceived by Rebecca Elise Cook that draws inspiration both from the recorded material and “The Garden of Earthly Delights” by iconic painter Hieronymus Bosch.”
Let’s go. It’s hot. It’s SO HOT!
Summertime hot, air conditioner’s broke
Get up to the mall
And do the Cool Mall Stroll
Below, a word about the band.
TUTV: The summer is not over until it’s over. Enter Swimwear Department and their new jump-up-and-down pool party soundtrack. Expect bouncy, brisk, and bold stuff you can hip-and-hop to like a kangaroo on E. Think postDevo-punk weirdness combined with rap-rant Beastie Boys lunacy translated in 10 instantly infectious tunes (except for coming down closer Memall). If you’re a punk surfer, this is your kind of stimulant to brave the waves.
They spice up all the excitement with schizo 70s-organ glow, non-stop pumping bass turbulence, steadfast drum hits, agitated guitar fragments and an expressive vocalist sneering a bit like The Fall‘s late legend Mark E. Smith used to do for a living. Frequently
all-together-now chants pop up, which you want to be a part of. Sounds like big fun, right? You betcha.
I’m quite sure that British hype Yard Act listened a lot
to SD before writing/recording their debut album.
Get up, stand up
and fight for your right
to party in a bath-suit.
STREAM
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BUY
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SD: Facebook – Instagram