You don’t have to dig deep to realize how accepting SWIMM are of disappointing news on their forthcoming sophomore LP, Best Comedown Ever—after all, it’s right there in the title. The latest single from the collection is a perfect summary of that attitude, though, with “No Ties” utilizing soulful guitar, sparkling production, and a hint of club energy to soundtrack “an attempt to reverse-engineer the end of a relationship to find the exact moment the magic dies, with a result of finding appreciation in the ephemera of the whole love thing,” as vocalist Chris Hess puts it.
Digging into the moment that sparked the idea for the instrumental, he continues: “My ex-girlfriend and I had this ritual during quarantine of smoking a gratuitous amount of weed and watching The Bachelorette. On the evening that Marton sent me a snippet of what would become ‘No Ties,’ we had taken edibles, so I have this lovely memory of laying on her living room carpet and listening to Marton’s guitar hook over and over again in headphones, while she and her roommate giggled to The Bachelorette. I’m fairly certain I was stuffing my face with banana bread she had made—so yeah, radical core memory.”
He also shares that the track is the most equally collaborative among the outfit’s discography, with all four current members contributing to its unique sheen. “This song makes me really happy because it is an absolute collaboration between the four of us,” Hess notes. “It’s a cool feeling to love your band and be in awe of their facility. The way they create and see music blows my mind… It feels like I can enjoy it as much as if I wasn’t in the band. I know what it’s like to try to make music without feeling inspired, and this song got us really excited to make music again.”
Check out a lyric video for the track below.
