Melbourne based songstress Maple Glider returns with “Swimming,” the third offering from her upcoming debut album To Enjoy is the Only Thing, out June 25 via Partisan Records and Pieater.
Having settled back in Melbourne after her somewhat semi-nomadic existence, Tori Zietsch aka Maple Glider has set her musical sights on releasing her debut album To Enjoy is the Only Thing. With the release of her previous single “Good Thing”, the artist also announced that she had signed to Partisan Records in partnership with Australian label Pieater.
Led by a fizzling, languid drum beat and the sparse guitars, “Swimming” follows in what is now an established formula for a Maple Glider track. Her power lies in her buttery light, delicate voice that weaves tales of woe and despair, whilst managing to sound achingly beautiful.
Coupled with some quiet keys underlying the song, the combined effect of “Swimming” is one of a hazy Sunday afternoon reminisce. It sounds like sipping a glass of freshly made lemonade on the porch and thinking about a lost love, the one that got away. Those subtle keys gift the song that sombre edge that Maple Glider is unparalleled at providing.
Accompanying the track, is a Bridgette Winden directed video. It’s already the third time that Maple Glider’s long time friend is in charge of the visuals. The “Swimming” clip retains the wonderful edge of her previous offerings, as we see super 8 footage of the artist romping around the coast, dunes and fields with a skeleton for a companion. It’s comically staged almost; the skeleton is an anatomically correct one that you find in a school biology lab, but it fits the more downtrodden side of the song. It’s tongue in cheek, but it’s ultimately reflective of the track’s ruminations about a kind of love that’s scarring, that’s so deep that it hurts whether it’s bad or not.
Solidifying her status of true storyteller, “Swimming” is essentially a cyclic song, ending with the same refrain that the track opened with. It feels like a perfect pearl, leaving the tale unending, like a chapter of a book enticing you to come back for the next installment.
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