Swimming + Singles [LTMCD 2324] | The Names

The Names \ Swimming + Singles [LTMCD 2324]

Swimming is the accalaimed debut album by Belgian new wave group The Names, originally released in June 1982 by Les Disques du Crépuscule.

Between 1979 and 1982 The Names recorded a string of excellent records for Factory, Factory Benelux and Crépuscule, all helmed by legendary producer Martin Hannett. Recorded at Strawberry Studios in Manchester, Swimming is now regarded as a cold wave classic, combining strong songwriting from Michel Sordinia and poised, tasteful delivery by guitarist Marc Deprez and keyboards player Christophe Den Tandt.

This remastered CD combines Swimming in its entirety with bonus singles Nightshift, Calcutta and The Astronaut, as well as two tracks recorded for Crépuscule compilation albums: Music for Someone, and Cat. CD booklet contains detailed liner notes.

Cover art by Benoît Hennebert.

Tracklist:

1. Music for Someone
2. Discovery
3. Floating World
4. The Fire
5. Life By the Sea
6. White Shadow
7. Calcutta
8. Postcards
9. (This Is) Harmony
10. Shanghai Gesture
11. Leave Her to Heaven
12. Light
13. Nightshift
14. I Wish I Could Speak Your Language
15. The Astronaut
16. Cat
17. I Wish I Could Speak Your Language (pre-mix)

Available on CD and digital download. To order CD simply click on the shopping cart button below the cover image or contact us by email.

Reviews:

"Intelligent and imaginative" (The Face, 07/1982)

"Classic, disaffected pop" (Top, 04/1991)

"Exhibits many of the fine qualities of early 80s avant-rock: icy brutalism, spectral reverb, tormented vocals, techno-tribal rumbles" (Uncut, 12/2000)

"Swimming retains a gorgeously shrouded, sepulchral mood" (Mojo, 12/2011)

"Heard now, Swimming shimmers like an underwater version of The Cure, crystalline and fractured" (The Arts Desk, 02/2013)

"Dark yet sparkling" (Record Collector, 03/2013)

"A superb and timeless new-wave triumph" (Flipside, 02/2013)