Swim Deep have experienced a meteoric rise recently, catalysed by the popularity of Birmingham’s ‘B-Town’ movement and their endearing mix of grunge style and uplifting, joyous pop. Considering this, the turn out for their show at the Duchess in York on the 20th February was a surprisingly disappointing affair. The band have played the venue before while on tour with neo-grunge hipsters Splashh. The numbers they experienced at this show were far greater, but the Brummy boys did not let this dampen their spirits for their very own headline show, as they interacted with the modest crowd and played their songs with gusto.
A mention must go to one of Swim Deep’s support band before going into their own performance, however. Sheffield boys Best Friends played a lively and engaging set, demonstrating an array of good tunes straight from the newest ‘90s hipster revival, very much along the same vein as Swim Deep. The rapport between the two bands was clearly quite special, as during both of their respective sets, they praised each other’s music and ability to party and have a good time, which (despite apparently nursing hangovers) they surely did.
Swim Deep’s set list was not particularly extensive, as they do not have a large number of songs to go on, so the band made sure the most was made of each song. Uplifting pop tune ‘Honey’ was well received by the crowd, as looks of appreciation appeared on most of their faces, and a group of young girls who had camped out at the venue doors before they opened, squealed and took photos on their phones. This sort of fan seems to be one the band are used to, which is not surprising given their youth, good looks and laid back attitude. The set ended in a rendition of their perhaps most popular track, ‘King City’, which was unexpectedly heartfelt and finished up the show on a definite high. It was in this way that the size of the crowd was rendered irrelevant, and Swim Deep gave York exactly what it wanted.
LOUISA HANN