Midwinter Swimmers The Innocence Mission

Album review

It's easy for The Innocence Mission to fall through cracks between micro-genres and perceptions of history. While their sound anticipated bands like Low and Mazzy Star, discussions of slowcore typically omit them. After decades of albums that emphasized their drummerless trio configuration, about half of Midnight Swimmers features prominent percussion. This leap hints at—but does not return to— the original folk-rock quartet sound with Steve Brown on drums. Nothing here approaches the accessible sheen that producer Dennis Herring helped shape for their 1995 album Glow, with its minor hit "Bright as Yellow."

Karen Peris's reverb-drenched tambourine on the second song, "Midwinter Swimmers," announces the group's latest evolution. On "John Williams," Don Peris—her husband—adds a minimal cymbal and snare beat that would fit on an early Low album. The addition of percussion never takes the spotlight away from Karen's vocals, full of beauty with a hint of naïveté. 

While her lyrics tell emotionally nuanced stories, her delivery rarely engages with this content; instead it's the creative arrangements that connect more closely with the narratives. The dynamic build of "Cloud to Cloud" leads the song from the "universe of questions" sung at the beginning through the repeating conclusion that "everything is light." The peak of "A Hundred Flowers" uses layered backing vocals to emphasize "I never wanted to let you down." While much of the album emphasizes guitar and bass, "A Hundred Flowers" also has Karen's piano in the foreground. A variety of guitar and keyboard sounds creates perceptible movement between songs, even within the band's restrained framework.  Although Midnight Swimmers is unlikely to drastically change The Innocence Mission's under-the-radar  profile, it adds another set of excellent songs to their impressive history. © Steve Silverstein/Qobuz