Swimming – The Sugarmill, Stoke-on-Trent 27/04/11

Spending an afternoon with Nottingham’s Swimming – an afternoon which included a sadly failed attempt to fly a remote-controlled plane in Stoke’s Forest Central Park – one message comes across more clearly than most: it’s not easy being in a band these days. This band’s frontman, John Sampson, is frank and open about the challenges they have faced. Determinedly DIY from the start, in 2009 Swimming self-released their debut album The Fireflow Trade, a consistently thrilling opus which made good on the intermittent promise of their early EPs. Although it had its admirers, the record baffled many reviewers – as Paul Lester of The Guardian pointed out in January, the record “saw them compared to no fewer than 50 other acts.” Bizarre references to Duran Duran and Babylon Zoo (the band’s favourite) replaced efforts to descibe the spacefaring electro-rock sound.

Now, then, is a critical time for Swimming. For the first time, they have a team around them, including management, and they are embarking on their first “proper” tour, playing songs from both their debut and forthcoming second LPs. Future dates will see them play with with much-discussed psych-pop band Fixers in Newcastle as well as playing dates in Glasgow, London, and Cardiff to name but a few. It is Stoke’s Sugarmill which hosts the first gig, however, and the turnout is tiny. Before he gets on stage, John is unperturbed. Whether it’s a practice, a recording, or a show – even an empty one – a real band plays their best whatever the circumstances, he explains. The rest of the night makes clear that not only Swimming but also both of their support acts intend to be “real bands”.

Maps of Columbus are a frantic power trio playing self-described “alternative punk” and hail from nearby Crewe. Complete with a barefoot guitarist/frontman, they too are undaunted by the smallness of the crowd; indeed, they look as though they turn it up a notch. Belting through a short and hectic set, they barely stop for a moment – except for when they jokingly introduce one of their last songs as “a slow one for holding hands and dancing”. Uncomplicated but energetic and pleasing, their music is worth a listen especially as they’re giving much of it away.

Before the show John was quick to recommend Foreign Office and within seconds it becomes clear that they are as tight and able as I was told. With a sound that hybridizes rock, soul and funk, they’re an immaculate unit as sharp and smooth as the formal dress they show up in. Besides their tightness, their strengths come particularly from their drums and percussion (including inspired use of woodblocks and two drummers) as well as infectious guitar work that you simply can’t help but smile at. The song highlight had to be “Leaving the House”, a playful paean to agoraphobia, of all things. Very impressive indeed.

When Swimming at last take the stage we’re reminded of how interesting their setup is. Drummer Pete – who incidentally also performs as a beatboxer under the name The Petebox – sits at a combined analogue/electronic kit positioned right at the front of the stage. Especially given his sizeable vocal contribution, Pete is almost join frontman with John. The set consists almost entirely of new material from the completed second record Ecstatics International. There was always a sizeable electronic angle to Swimming’s sound, but they’ve moved a little further in this direction with their latest writing; the songs are many layered and varied in texture, but united by the band’s instinctive ear for the entrancingly weird.

‘Panthalassa’, perhaps the first recorded song on which Swimming’s true potential became clear, is as massive and thrilling as ever in this intimate live context, driven by its mammoth chasm of a keyboard figure. The track is an anchor here, keeping us on board with the band’s new and often less straightforward material. Towards the end of the show, the A side (‘Sun in the Island’) and B side (‘Team Jetstream’) of the latest single prove to the be highlight of the whole show; these songs were released on the new singles label attached to New York’s East Village Radio and the songs sound even better live than on those airwaves. “Nothing can come between us now” falsettos John during ‘Team Jetstream’ – if this show had not been at a near-empty venue but instead in a packed stadium, the sentiment would have been just as true.