Swimming Bell - Wild Sight (2019)

On the whim of a fleeting synthesized harmony, Katie Schottland’s honeysweet vocal enters the frame as we descend upon “Good Time, Man,” the opening track in her solo project Swimming Bell’s new album Wild Sight. Her voice is as soft as silk, but the melody acting as its foundation is thick and muscly, drawing every drop of sonic luster out of the woodwork and bringing it to the surface of the master mix. “Good Time, Man” isn’t the foreboding gothic folk song that “1988” is, but the tracks gel together surprisingly well, especially when we get into the chorus of the latter song and find a romanticism in the lyrics that will segue us into “For Brinsley” seamlessly. Wild Sight might not be a traditional concept album, but the material it contains definitely spins us an extended yarn that speaks volumes about the amazingly talented woman behind its design.