Swim School & Ziggarettes

Swim School once described themselves as ‘Tesco value Wolf Alice’ on this occasion however it’s clear to see they will become more they just peers with Ellie Rowsell and co, Swim School can go to the very top.

Swim School lead singer Alice Johnson confessed that she hadn’t heard of Norwich until a couple of years ago. Pretty impressive then that on their third visit to our fine city they sell out the Waterfront Studio with fans eager to hear their stunning slices of shoegaze-indie goodness.

On this their first ever UK headline tour the trio are slowly but steadily making a name for themselves with their rich sounds and wonderful songwriting. Having seen them on the three occasions they have played here it’s plain for me to see that the band are honing their craft and getting bigger and better.

Alice as a front person is an absolute joy to watch. She’s funny, assertive and has a wonderful way of getting the audience engaged with her. As I stand towards the side of the stage, I witness a number of young women who are completely in awe of her. She’s their inspiration, a reason to believe in themselves. We’ve all had musical heroes (mine being Michael Stipe) and seeing this playing out is something to cherish.

Opening their set with 'BORED' we get swept straight into the bands wall of sound. There are some wonderful nods to bands like The Breeders and the ethereal vocals flirt with Slowdive quite wonderfully. ‘Outside’ continues the theme with driven guitar riffs from guitarist Lewis Bunting who has a wonderful relaxed yet composed style that works superbly alongside the exquisite drumming from Billy McMahon.

Mid set highlights were ‘Delirious’ with an angular tone and heavy, driven riffs that caused a commotion and a mosh pit down the front which Alice not only instigated but joined in with. A continuation of the theme was ‘Let Me Inside Your Head’ which provided more crowd interaction and full on 90s inspired hook.

On the other side of the grunge coin, we had the quite beautiful ‘To Grow’ a tender, sweeping, beautiful song about coping with loss. The audience stood in complete silence and awe, some with arms around each other, others down the front wiping tears from their eyes. A truly magical moment.

‘Seeing It Now’ the title track from their new mixtape EP filled the room with more shoegaze goodness, having only just been released it has taken on the mantle of soon to be crowd favourite. ‘Give Me A Reason’ is already a masterpiece in modern songwriting, Alice’s vocals sounding incredibly strong as she gets the audience to join in with the chorus.

Opening the evening was local likely ladsZiggarettes. James, Herbie, Tommy and Jake make dreamlike pop music that leans into the past (think The Blue Nile) and stretches into the future (Mac Demarco) songs like ‘Funeral’ and brand-new track ‘Save It For Later’ are incredibly vulnerable and personal pieces of writing that really come across wonderfully. Having seen them a number of times it’s a joy to witness their talent and confidence growing.