The debut EP from Swimsuit Issue is a time capsule from the 90s, repackaged and redelivered for the modern era. Growing up on grunge music, you’d be accustomed to a certain energy baked in pessimism and angst not just lyrically, but sonically too. Swimsuit Issue don’t resign themselves to the same energy, They lift the soundscapes that grunge crafted, but manage to flip it into songs that are loaded with optimism, nostalgia, and joy. The opening piece itself, ‘Golden days’, starts the record off a note that is replete with rekindling memories of your best years. It sets the album off on a high note, one that the Brisbane rockers manage to maintain throughout the duration of the fourteen track LP.
Formed at the onset of the pandemic in May 2020, the group recorded their first album in just two sessions, spread out across a seven month timespan. Synthesizing a core foundation of grunge with dreampop, psychedelia, alt country, and indie and instruments that range from pedal steels to the saxophone, it is a definitively eclectic project that’s baked in feeling. In many ways, there’s an indie rock energy that prevails strongly over each track that’s coated in the production and instrumentation more typical to a grunge piece.
Songs like ‘This is the End’ veer more towards a typical grunge piece, dreary and ominous. Others like Ocean Haze are more psychedelic, with a dreamy and atmospheric production that leaves you feeling floating. The album also features two different cover versions of Daniel Johnston’s ‘True Love’, each showing a different spin on the forefather of lo-fi and alternate music.
Swimsuit Issue are at their strongest when they’re combing spacy psychedelic energy with grunge backgrounds with a tinge of optimism. Tracks like ‘Golden Days’ and ‘Hit it with you’ are so exciting and fun for any listener, invariably having you singing along with choruses and floating in the dreamy production.
As far as modern rock goes, few artists are pushing boundaries across different genres as much as Swimsuit Issue. What makes them most exciting however, is their ability to capture the energy and history of the 90s. To those who grew up on grunge, this refreshed and revamped approach is bound to perk your ears.