To listen to Swimming, the new album by Sam Moss, is to be confronted by beautiful contradictions. Moss and his ensemble spin a gossamer web of instrumentation around Moss’ earthy voice, at once hopeful and a deliverer of weary wisdom. With a band like Isa Burke on virtually every string instrument you can think of – Sinclair Palmer on double bass, Joe Westerlund on drums, Molly Sarlé on harmony, and Jake Xerxes Fussell contributing licks to “Lost” and “World” – it’s hard to imagine these compositions in more capable hands.
It’s fitting, then, that Swimming explores the ways we hold ourselves back from life’s opportunities – occasionally punctuated by those moments when we get out of our own way.