Olympic Swimmers: Land Ahoy!

It’s easy not to feel nostalgic for childhood when you consider some of the shit you went through at the hands of your siblings. You know, those times your brother pushed you down the stairs, or his generally fusty aroma. Yet, as you get older, the urge to hold his head under the bath water may begin to subside, such that many musicians – from The Beach Boys to The Breeders – choose to keep it in the family. With Olympic Swimmers, Simon and Susie Liddell keep the good tradition alive.

Having played together for years, the brother and sister met bassist, Graeme Smillie and drummer Jonny Scott through the quartet’s previous band Bad Dancer. Second guitarist Jamie Savage was added to their ranks in 2008, cementing their epic indie-folk line-up. Hang on - ‘indie-folk’ – can we call it that?

“I would describe our music as shoe-glancing indie that goes down the quiet/loud path, but with lots of wandering around along the way,” says vocalist Susie. “We're all agreed in our admiration of Low, Pavement, The Wedding Present, The National and Bonnie Prince Billy.”

With their sonic frame of reference sorted, the quintet recorded a double A-side single at Glasgow’s Chem 19 studio with award-winning producer Paul Savage (The Delgados, Phantom Band – again, we could go on) last summer. A track titled Father Said exemplifies the melodic, almost reluctantly hopeful flavour of their music; at times it’s befitting of a David Gordon Green soundtrack. “I prefer to listen to music that has a balance between the music and the words, where neither is a focus above the other. I'd like to think we try to do that,” Susie points out. “I don't think that I'm particularly melancholic, but I do like a good rant.”

Gigging sporadically until now, the Swimmers have achieved an impressive amount in the little time they spend on stage, including support slots for Idlewild and Bowerbirds. A reason for this lack of limelight may simply be their indulgence in extracurricular activities, with full-time members of Take a Worm For a Walk Week, Strike the Colours, Piano Bar Fight, Black Rat Death Squad and Emma Pollock’s band in the ranks. “Everyone has a lot of commitments,” admits Susie, “but I suppose you make time for something that you enjoy doing and with people you enjoy doing that with. It's not exactly like finding time to do the housework.”

Of the sense of camaraderie about the Olympic Swimmers and their immediate peers in the west, Susie speaks adoringly: “There is more of an unspoken Glasgow identity and attitude linking acts rather than any real stylistic qualities, meaning it is a lot harder to pigeonhole a lot of the best Scottish bands into any particular category. So, you can get some bands playing on the same bill that on the surface don’t have that much in common, like DeSalvo and Zoey Van Goey.”

In the wake of Bad Dancer’s demise, Liddell was not disheartened by the prospect of building everything from the ground again with a band far removed from the ethereal Cure-inflected indie rock vibe of their former incarnation. “I think it was – and is – exciting, not daunting or frustrating, to start something new and have new motivation for doing it. In some ways we're not really starting over, we're just doing something different.”

As Olympic Swimmers find their focus, that ‘something different’ will hopefully soon be easier for us to stumble across. “We are recording, with the intention of possibly bringing out an EP,” says Susie. “And we have made a New Years’ resolution to play more. Honest.” We’ll be holding them to that.