If a video begins with warped guitar harmonics and a baby in a swimming pool, Nirvana’s going to spring to mind, but that’s a head fake before the decidedly Strokes-y sound that Chapel Hill indie rocker Nathan Oliver punches up in “Everybody’s Swimming,” the new single from his eponymous band’s forthcoming fourth album.
Thank You for Your Generosity was born of tragedy, but at least on the single, the mode of mourning is a vivacious affirmation of life. According to a press release, Oliver began writing the album after the death of his brother in 2017, and infused it with his “optimistic spirit.”
The lyrics of the single—a tuneful, hooky shout-along featuring band members Joe Caparo and Brad Porter—should feel heavy, concerned as they are with memories slipping away. But instead of trying to cling to them, Oliver creates a supernova of acceptance and release. “Everybody’s Swimming” doesn’t wallow; it’s a poppy proto-punk cascade that leaps and plunges like the swimmers and skydivers in the striking stock-footage video by Marat Sadana.
Thank You for Your Generosity, recorded with Missy Thangs at the famed Fidelitorium in Kernersville, is due out October 23 on Potluck Foundation and Suah Sounds. If this video doesn’t make you feel a little better, you probably already felt fine:
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