Label: Mad Dragon Records

Web site: theswimmers.com

Release Date: March 4, 2008

The Swimmers - Fighting Trees
Matthew Ralph

I never lived in Lancaster, but I did spend four years in college in a small Central Pa. town close enough to the city to frequent shows played by some of the bands The Swimmers’ frontman Steve Yutzy-Burkey could be referring to in the song “Heaven.” Revisiting his hometown in the song, Yutzy-Burkey finds himself in a strange place where “All our favorite bands gave up the ghost/And scattered with the friends we loved the most.”

This little musical trip down memory lane for the songwriter made me a bit nostalgic when I first heard it, thinking of the times I saw Yutzy-Burkey share a stage with Denison Witmer or play with his short-lived band Star to Star. From the time I first heard the Yutzy-Burkey-penned tune “Quality,” I knew he would be someone to keep an eye on. “Fighting Trees” might just be the kind of record that lives up to the hype I’ve created in my head for Yutzy-Burkey since those days.

Formed from the ashes of the Philadelphia-based rootsy Americana style band One Star Hotel – alluded to in the Elvis Costello-esque “St. Cecilia” and the slow-burning “All the New Songs” -- The Swimmers play an infectious brand of indie-rock that is carried off brilliantly with its blend of bouncy rhythms and playful melodies. The vibe reminds me of a cookout I once attended on a summer day in Brooklyn – intelligently carefree and friendly.

The experience of musicians who have been at it for a long time (drummer Scotty French has played in so many bands he probably can’t even name them all) is evident throughout the record. Calling The Swimmers a new band seems kind of odd since the songs and the chemistry displayed on the record shows a band confident, comfortable and content to do what they seem to love doing most.

posted [05.06.08]

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