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Little Name How to Swim and Live
Scandinavian pop travels to U.K. but a few pieces were lost in the move. Little Name's How To Swim And Live juxtaposes the light and the weighty and fails to weave the two effectively – the instrumentation overpowers the precocious lyrics and like undercooked pasta, it just doesn't stick. Unlike the pasta, I had no urge to throw the album against any walls – actually, I quite liked it. Even if the final product is not what Barker envisioned, he succeeds in making a flighty album that can whisk listeners away in a sea of xylophones, acoustics, resonating vocals, and a few mixed mystery sounds all of which he created during production.
The first stanza of the first track, "For the Attention Of," ironically prefaces the album with a perhaps unintentional, self-deprecating, and worthy caveat:
"I don't really care about you,
I've just got an itch that needs to be scratched,
I don't want a long engagement,
I don't think you're serious enough for me."
When you lay these lyrics atop the jelly-bean musical arrangement that permeates the album, the two forces do battle and the music wins hands down. The lyrics, like the vocals, fade away leaving airy sounds and poppy melodies reminiscent of Actual Tigers. It is a flirty album best saved for days involving goofy sunglasses, flip-flops, and a skiff headed for warm watering holes. When you've worn out If You're Feeling Sinister, give this a try, but don't be surprised if it falls short of the strong lyrical wit and impressive integration of humor and gravity that Belle and Sebastian orchestrate. I trust Barker to give me swimming lessons, but I have to tune him out when he tries to pass on life lessons. It is the perfect soundtrack to a simple day, even if Little Name's goal was complexity.
