Originally formed in 1989 under the moniker Blinder, things really started moving for this Essex crew when the core of that band changed their name to Headswim three years later. A solid debut album, Flood, followed (reviewed here) before personal issues found the band taking a hiatus. After licking their wounds, Headswim returned in 1997 with their sophomore album Despite Yourself, a record that proved itself a cathartic experience and one that now gets expanded with a host of bonus tracks thanks to those cool cats at Trapped Animal Records.

Three years had elapsed between the release of Despite Yourself and its predecessor, but if Headswim were in a rush then opening track ‘Tourniquet’ gave no inkling. It is something of a low key start and one that finds the band bringing all their experience to the fore, meaning that when the chorus kicks in, it is with some force. Finding solace in the depths of sorrow, it’s the type of chorus that demands a thousand voices sing along, each bringing their own trauma, and stands in marked contrast with the rest of the song. If there’s one thing that stitches this diverse album together, then it is the manipulation of sonics; the loud and quiet, discordant and sublime, and the sour and sweet all act as a foil to highlight and enhance the other. Like stepping into a hall of mirrors, sound is fractured, reflected and distorted, making Despite Yourself a multifaceted listen.

This album evidenced a band in evolution, dropping the juvenile grunge influences in favour of a more mature alternative rock sound. There’s a clear arc of travel, and while the band haven’t severed their roots, there’s a definite growth going on. They now sound a tad world-weary and display the kind of wisdom that only comes from the school of hard knocks. Fortunately, such adversity makes for great art and the lyrics on tracks like ‘Better Made’ have a questioning tone that endeavour to unravel (or at least makes sense) of the intricacies of life. It’s something to which we can all relate and that makes Despite Yourself a more shared experience.

Released in the middle of the musical confused decade that was the 1990s, Despite Yourself confused as many critics as it charmed. Lazy comparisons were drawn with bands like Radiohead and while that’s certainly understandable, there’s a depth here that makes 1997’s Headswim more Leonard Cohen than Jeff Buckley. The keys on ‘Holy Ghost’ add a touch of The Doors’ otherworldliness while ‘Devil In My Palm’ captures the essence of The Beatles at their backward masked best. Headswim seemed to have had a more rounded musical education than their peers and that’s something the record buying public picked up upon (more a litmus test than critics) and it was no surprise that both the album and single ‘Tourniquet’ crashed the UK top 30.

Bolstered by seven bonus tracks (although, rather annoyingly, there’s little information as to whether these are b-sides, radio sessions or out-takes) makes this the most definitive version Despite Yourself. In many ways, Headswim were of the ‘90s (after all, that’s when they were most active) but in Despite Yourself they produced an album that not only captured the zeitgeist of those times, they also produced an album for all time.

• Despite Yourself is released via Trapped Animal Records on 5th December 2024.
• Official Website | Facebook Group

Track List:

1. Tourniquet
2. Hype
3. Years On Me
4. Clinging To The Wreckage
5. Better Made
6. Wishing I Was Naive
7. Old Angel Midnight
8. Holy Ghost
9. Burnt Out Shell Of Bliss
10. Devil In My Palm
11. Moving On
12. Brother

Bonus Tracks:

13. Black Car
14. Last Subway Coma
15. Recovery Position
16. The Seed
17. Plagued
18. No Ticket
19. Tourniquet (with strings)