Album Review: Headswim - Flood
Reviewed by Tim Finch
With the resurgence of classic 90’s bands that is going round right now, it was only a matter of time before the leaders of the British grunge movement reared their heads. Yes, Headswim have returned!
Back in the day they only released two albums, the seminal ‘Flood’ and a few years later ‘Despite Yourself’. Until now, only the latter had been available on streaming services (although a search on Youtube could locate a rip of the Flood album if so desired). This week Trapped Animal Records are about the rectify the gaps in the bands digital catalogue with the reissue of ‘Flood’, also repackaged in a glorious digipac for those who like that sort of thing, with a bonus disc covering some additional pieces.
As the keyboard intro to ‘Gone To Pot’ rings out those memories of bygone days “flood” back. The dark and dirty sound of a band who surely take inspiration from Soundgarden with this haunting grunge sound. In a time when heavy metal was on its death bed Headswim took the British scene by storm and this was the anthem to those days.
As the album progresses the band stretch their legs, experimenting with sounds in a bold move for what was then their debut. The Pearl Jam-esq ‘Try Disappointed’ beautifully placed within the album to adjust the tempo and keep the listener enthralled by their grunge tinged journey.
‘Dead’ was always the song many of us came back to, the stomping anthemic rhythm that runs throughout it’s core was infectious, it had a grove that you just had to nod your head to, dance to, lose yourself in.
To listen to the album again was a pure trip down memory lane, to a simpler time, when all we cared about was the music and the passion we had for it. Packed on the bonus disc are some added features, including some tracks from Radio 1 Rock Show sessions and some deep cuts, b-sides and added extras.
For those of you who have a Headswim sized whole in your record collections, now is the time to fill it. For many it will be a chance to relive your youth and get lost in the Headswim world once more. However you choose to enjoy this musical revival, I strongly encourage you to do so!
