29. May 2025
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Media Review

The Innocence Mission – Midwinter Swimmers

Florian Buechtingby Florian Buechting

The Innocence Mission - Midwinter Swimmers

The Innocence Mission - Midwinter Swimmers
3.9

Rating

 3.9/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Nice instrumental settings
  • Catching voice of Karen Peris
  • Interesting storytelling

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Some songs are very / too complex

In two years, the US-American alternative rock and indie folk band celebrate their fourteenth band anniversary. After their most recent album See You Tomorrow is dated as of 2020, they shared a new long-play on 29th November 2024. Here is my review of Midwinter Swimmers.

 

The Innocence Mission – About The Artists

The Innocence Mission have been founded in 1986 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The band is currently a trio. Karen Peris is something like the lead of the band, as she is the primary songwriter, main vocalist and also serves as a multi-instrumentalist. The other band members are her husband Don Peris (guitar, drums), Mike Bitts (bass guitar). Thei sound is a mixture of alternative rock, indie folk and dream pop. They released their self-titled debut in 1989 and released a total of twelve studio albums so far. The last two ones, Sun on the Square (2018) and See You Tomorrow have been especially popular in the United Kingdom, where both releases made it to the Top 10 of the Americana album charts. The band members have also released some solo albums. The most recent ones were the instrumental The Old Century (2013) by Don Peris and A Song Is Way Above the Lawn (2021) by Karen Peris. The latter also featured Don and their children Drew and Anna in instrumental roles.

 

The Innocence Mission – Midwinter Swimmers – Track by Track

The eleven track album lasts 40 minutes

1. This Thread Is a Green Street

Something about these pink weeping trees
brushing my shoulder blades right before rain
is a doorway.
Do you know, where did it go,
the other land in the heart?
I draw a map, that I can start to get there.

The opening track of the album already sets the direction for Midwinter Swimmers. This Thread Is a Green Street presents precise, crisp lyrics, handmade-style melodies and a very fine, fragile sound overall. Karen Peris’ voice feels like the perfect match to this sound, which makes you dream away into the story of the song.

2. Midwinter Swimmers

The second track of the album is its title track. The three minute listen again come with good storytelling and a nice ease. Nonetheless, the trio makes use of a rather wide instrumentation, which leads to a fascinating listen.

3. The Camera That Divides The Coast Of Maine

The Camera That Divides The Coast Of Maine starts a bit darker and heavier, mainly driven by the piano. However, the light, jazzy drumming and the fine leading voice of Karen Peris creates such a nice ease. A bit of reverb – and The Innocence Mission are taking you on a musical trip to the Northeast of the United States.

4. John Williams

It does not need much to create a lovely song. The Innocence Mission and the fourth song of their 2024 album, John Williams, show that in a beautiful way. The lyrics sheet of the song just features some 25 lines, but there are a lot of metaphors and pictures, which easily let you drift into the song and enjoy its atmosphere. The sound may feel a bit of monotonous at first, but that is part of the band’s sound. They allay your alertness and take you into their storyland. Magical.

I set the table with the blue green.
I was not staring at the ceiling,
I’m just between some thoughts.
It is the blankness of a new page.
It is the possibly new place
I haven’t seen at all, John Williams.

5. We Would Meet in Center City

We Would Meet in Center City comes with a lovely melody. It does not need much to get into this fine blend of indie folk and dream pop elements. This turns it into one of the easiest to listen to to songs of the album.

6. Your Saturday Picture

Your Saturday picture arrived,
it’s on my wall.
I could go right into it,
walking down the long street with you.
Twelve-pane windows spelling Philadelphia,
pretending to be the sky, fly all their clouds
beside us down the long street.

Typically, the Midwinter Swimmers songs take you on a musical journey, like a picture painted by melodies. The sixth track Your Saturday Picture somehow turns this perspective and describes how a picture is creating memories, dreams, desire. A comparably straight storytelling (I miss you. I can see all the colors now, all the colors now that you are seeing) turns this song into one of my favorites.

7. Cloud To Cloud

I would describe the seventh sog of Midwinter Swimmers as a straight dream folk track. It beautifully merges dream pop and indie folk elements. The sound is fine. However, it also shows the lyrical world of Karen Peris. While some of the previous tracks were rather easily accessible as a listener, this one is a bit of confusing to me.

8. A Hundred Flowers

I would break into a hundred flowers.
I never wanted to let you down.

The guitar is strumming a bed of chords, accompanied by the piano. On top of that, there is Karen Peris’s voice. The song feels like a typical song on this album, not to special. But again, the Peris family and Mike Bitts create a special atmosphere, some touch of drama. Nonetheless, the nice flow of the song turns it into one of the easier listens on Midwinter Swimmers.

9. Orange Of The Westering Sun

The ninth track, Orange Of The Westering Sun, is the second longest on the album. And once in California we may find the orange of the westering sun. Later, Karen Peris describes In Palos Verdes I will see the red kites and the sky lift pink. A beautiful, literally colorful track, which is beautiful listening to. And its duration also allows The Innocence Mission creating and defining some fine themes on the instrumental side.

10. Sisters And Brothers

Sisters and Brothers is one of the easy, melodic songs of the album. The second last track of the record feels playful and joyful. It is simply enjoyable listening to the lyrics, but also to the melodies.

11. A Different Day

The mood of the closing track is deeper and more thoughtful, the storytelling is also more complex. It even feels a bit of confusing. Similar to some other songs on this album, I need to read the lyrics sheet multiple times to get into the story. Fans of the band might likely state that the US-Americans give us a good-bye from their 2024 release with their very own signature.

 

The Innocence Mission – Midwinter Swimmers – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

The Innocence Mission – Midwinter Swimmers – My View

Midwinter Swimmers is a demanding album. It has some easy parts, but then it surprises again with complexity, especially on the storytelling side. That’s a bit of a shame, as the sound of The Innocence Mission on their 2024 is so beautiful and gentle, but also not boring on the instrumental side. Finally, it is a good release, but does not make it to the higher rankings.

Favorite Song: Your Saturday Picture

 

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