The first sliver of hope arrives with Hallelujah, Goodnight!, which is still a piano-heavy dance song but with a notably thoughtful hook and some decidedly en vogue synths. That’s when the oddness of The Atlantic Ocean sets in – it’s quite significantly backloaded with some real standout pop songs – some that don’t even rely on piano! This is how the first half of the album progresses, which may as well be one epic piano dance instead of five little pop songs due to their interchangeability. That’s a lot of quirk, and it’s fun but never really fulfilling, like a sweet snack that makes you hyper for a bit before it leaves you like a thud. It should be said that Swift’s hoppity piano-led pop tunes lasso together the quirkiness of post-Beatles Paul McCartney and the, well, the quirkiness of Spoon. But Swift’s latest album, The Atlantic Ocean, sounds tirelessly like someone who can see the light but can’t reach it, dancing around it fervently but never getting any closer to the finish line. There’s potential here and catchy hooks abound. I suppose I can see what Jeff Tweedy saw in Richard Swift when he invited Swift to tour with Wilco in support of their 2007 album, Sky Blue Sky. Richard Swift The Atlantic Ocean (Secretly Canadian)
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