-
8.0
137860
8.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
Stylistically, thematically, and energetically, they cover substantial ground. Also, while the set brims with a sense of unrest and dislocation, it also rouses an implicit exuberance: though we suffer profoundly, art is redemptive, life is inexplicably beautiful
Read Review
-
8.0
137861
8.0 |
Exclaim
As storytellers, Merrick and Whittle are exceptional at making every breath count. Vowels drag, imagery simmers and the spaces between strums and utterances are ripe with vibrations — infusing these songs with the unshakable feeling that something drastic is always right around the corner
Read Review
-
8.0
137862
8.0 |
All Music
While Big Swimmer isn't especially hooky or melodic or cathartic, it is mesmerizing, and performed with an actor's command of an audience, a playwright's turn of phrase, and an expert sense of guitar tones -- as well as an enviable, intangible coolness
Read Review
-
8.0
137863
8.0 |
Mojo
Lyrically, it's Merrick's diary of their delirious reaction to that vast continent, such as the sublime desolation of Somewhere near El Paso, bathed in "a half-lit Denny's sign", or Lily Pad, where Merrick, sounding almost horizontal. Print edition only
-
8.0
137933
8.0 |
PopMatters
Liverpool’s King Hannah reference indie rock contemporaries on Big Swimmer but advance their sound through unique soundscapes that stand on their own
Read Review
-
7.5
138040
7.5 |
Under The Radar
Big Swimmer doesn’t feel rushed or hurried. There’s space to let the songs breathe, to let them seep into your bones, to cast their spell, making it a hugely rewarding and often soothing listen
Read Review
-
7.0
137865
7.0 |
Far Out
The influence of the gritty guitar music that preceded them is in almost every strum and every shrugged lyric
Read Review
-
6.9
137864
6.9 |
Pitchfork
At its best, Hannah Merrick’s stream-of-consciousness songwriting feels like sitting shotgun with her as she crosses the country, taking in the sublime and the absurd in equal measure
Read Review
-