First off, I am not extremely familiar with the French Kicks; they have been around for 10 years or so with multiple albums, but Swimming is the first album of theirs that I have ever listened to. At any rate, I got this album not too long ago in preparation of seeing these guys on June 4 in Dallas, and if nothing else, Swimming is an apt title. With its echoey vocals, droning guitar, slow pace and spacey, drifting melodies, this record sounds like your head is underwater; or that you are sitting on a lazy beach. This feeling encompasses the entirety of the album, with the possible exception of the first track, Abandon. Abandon leads the album as an upbeat and very catchy song, but the tone of the album shifts distinctly at the close of the track to the much more subdued pace, much like getting off a major interstate in favor of a seaside highway.

And by that I mean a slow-paced seaside highway where you put the top down and relax and don’t hear anything that would get anyone too worked up. I like the way this album rambles through the tracklist, and although I’m not the biggest fan of all the tracks on the record, I appreciate what the band is trying to accomplish on this record and I think they achieve it. I just wish the record had a little more depth in the music that is played.

Following Abandon, the band does what I describe, by slowing things way down with Over the World, a little repetitive track that has that spacy feel to it throughout, and that is followed by Carried Away, and two tracks later, Said So What, which are a couple of my favorites on the album. Both songs’ chill groove is pretty catchy and both are good listens. They are both very simple songs; Said So What having a distinctly retro feel to it, while Carried Away, along with the later Atlanta, has a droning mandolin (and in the case of Atlanta, droning guitar) coupled with pretty spacy, effect-heavy vocals which work well together.

For much of the album, my main complaint is that I want the songs to be deeper sonically. It’s not that the songs are too simple, but that they just don’t present the top to bottom sound that I am wanting on an album, especially from a band with this much experience behind it. During songs like Love In The Ruins and With the Fishes, I want more bass, more drums, more….everything, really. I want more sound to compliment what they have layed down on the track. That is definitely not to say I’m wanting a Spector-esque “Wall of Sound” to overwhelm these songs, I just want a little bit more than they are giving me. In much of this album, a little extra backing notes would be much appreciated.

For what the album is, I think there are only a small number of real missteps, but overall it is an enjoyable album.

Daigle Rate: 73

French Kicks - Abandon - From Swimming
French Kicks - Carried Away - From Swimming

06/04 Dallas, TX @ Granada Theatre
06/05 Austin, TX @ Mohawk
06/06 Houston, TX @ Walters on Washington
06/07 Baton Rouge, LA @ Spanish Moon
06/09 Birmingham, AL @ The Bottletree
06/10 Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
06/11 Columbus, OH @ The Basement