SWIMM is kicking off a new chapter this week. The Los Angeles pop outfit is releasing their new single "Talk to Me," which is the first glimpse of a new album. And it's premiering today on Variance.
The gummy new track has us hooked as the band teases their upcoming sophomore record Best Comedown Ever, which is out on Aug. 10. The group is also coming off a recent North American tour with Crooked Colours.
We chatted with the band about the new music and what's coming next.
Check out the new song below.
This is the first single from the album. How did you decide for this to be the introduction?
With its themes of polyamory and the rites of spring simmering in the Convent, it felt very of the moment to release it just in time for Spring Break. Deliver an SB 23' anthem with some heart to the heathens in Daytona Beach, you know? Being originally from Florida, it's the least we could contribute to the beloved sun-soaked debauchery.
Sonically, it felt like the right intro to the album. A lot of electronic elements, the use of creating our own samples, while still trying to maintain the organic feeling of a band creating music.
What is the best part of releasing new music?
It reminds you how excited you were about the song when it first came to fruition. So much toiling goes into finishing and mixing a song, that it becomes this separate entity by the time it's finished. In releasing it, you somewhat claim ownership of it again—a prodigal child returning to the fold. But by far the best moment is seeing someone sing it back to you when you play it live. Another reminder that it was made to share and not just live on a private Soundcloud link that you send to your Mom for her daily walks.
You’ve also been hitting the road on tour. How is it playing live for fans and getting to test out new music?
Our last tour felt so good that it actually made me depressed when I got home. And I've never really got the post-tour blues, but something about playing these new songs live--it felt more natural than it ever has and I'm so proud to share the stage with my bandmates cause I think they're all so talented and dreamy, that I really longed for that joy once I got home.
What is something you can share off the upcoming album?
There is a song called "Fancy" that has a meaningful origin story for me. I was quite humbled that legendary musician/human Meshell N'degeocello came to a couple of our shows in LA. Furthermore, I had the joy of sharing some really inspiring conversations with her during that time. There is something so genuine yet so fun about her, that it really invigorates me to be around her. So I began listening to her albums a ton and I'd find I wouldn't be able to listen without crying--they just brought up so much emotion in me. I'd escape to the driveway so no one would catch me all misty-eyed, clutching my headphones.
It was during this time I wrote the hook to "Fancy." I used to just play it on the Rhodes and sing it over and over. Then months later we ended up recording that song in New York and Meshell happened to be there. She came into the studio and listened to that song as we were working on it, and I have to admit, to this day, I've never felt so humbled to have my musical endeavors lead to a moment that surreal. She'd probably hate to hear this and our mutual friend Abe Rounds (drummer extraordinaire) would giggle at all this gushing, but sometimes you gotta embrace being a sappy betch.
What is one thing still on the bucket list you’d like to achieve?
Other than divulging just a little too much of my personal life in an exclusive Rolling Stone interview—warranting as much concern as it does fan-fiction exposés, I'd say sing a duet on stage with Karen O.
Okay, one more... We started a festival called Love You Down in L.A. By the 3rd year, we had one of our favorite bands, Warpaint, headline two nights in a row. Then Covid hit. Womp womp. In building momentum for it again, a bucket list moment would be to build the festival—in congress with our band—and be able to hold it at Red Rocks with all of our friends' bands playing with us. K, I'm done.
