Vividly present and strangely distant at once, John Craigie haunts the tender landscapes of I Swam Here like a ghost imparting an urgent message. If the gently alluring melodies and mild-mannered singing suggest a man on a mission to soothe, his crafty lyrics tell a different story, stirring up specters of death, loneliness, and other unnerving spirits. Existential dread has rarely felt so serene.
This Portland, OR troubadour embodies the DIY ethos, releasing all of his work on his Zabriskie Point label, which to date includes ten albums of original material, plus a number of live sets and covers collections devoted to the likes of The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. While the clean production on I Swam Here provides plenty of space for tasteful guitars, keyboards, and steel, it also adds a subtle echo to Craigie’s vocals, creating the sensation he’s slightly removed, delivering these introspective songs from the next room in melancholy isolation. Confident in the quiet power of his music, Craigie never oversings, preferring to sneak up on the unsuspecting listener.
