Artist......: Little Name
Album.......: How To Swim And Live
Source......: CD
Label.......: Sleepy
Genre.......: Indie
Tracks......: 12
Bitrate.....: 878 kbps avg
Playtime....: 00:36:11 (239.MB)
Rls date....: 2021-05-24
Store date..: 2007-10-01
Encoder.....: FLAC 1.3.1
Url.........: http://www.littlename.bandcamp.com/
01 For The Attention Of 2:43
02 I Always See The Sun Rise 3:03
03 How To Swim And Live 3:14
04 Tracy And I 3:40
05 Orienteering 3:25
06 A Life Such As Mine 2:48
07 Picked Out Of The Line 3:01
08 Nobody Loves You 3:31
09 Dreaming Is A Private Thing 2:30
10 This Was Your Place Of Birth 2:33
11 Sam And Molly Are In Love 2:52
12 You Tear My Love Apart 2:51
There could be something in the water when it comes to unashamedly twee
English singer/songwriters -- or maybe just the rising damp. However
considered, Lee Barker's one-man band, aside from some extra vocals and a
bit of guitar from others, practically embraces both its songwriting
forebears and its national ones; not for nothing is the cover image one of
a classic British holiday camp swimming pool, with all the weirdly
artificial signifiers of fun one could imagine. From the brisk starter,
"For the Attention Of," with jangly guitars, steady beats, liquid
nightclub-in-Blackpool keyboards, and calm singing all in just the expected
combination, How to Swim and Live is not out to challenge boundaries in the
slightest, to its unavoidable detriment. No sound these days is truly
outdated -- there always seems to be a revival somewhere that thrives
without asking for or seeking permission -- but everything in the Little
Name universe feels so cheerfully isolated in its Dentists/XTC/C-86
hermetically sealed universe that there's little more to be said about it
beyond noting those references. This all noted, How to Swim and Live is
peppy, sweet, and enjoyable on all those terms; it's practically designed
to make Anglophiles the world over imagine skipping down the street on a
summer vacation to Berkshire. Lyrical references to the BBC, the Tower of
London, and the like crop up (to be fair, so does Annie Hall), and if
Little Name doesn't surprise overall, arguably How to Swim and Live was
never meant to.