Record Rebound: Morphine issue 1996 album ‘Like Swimming’ on vinyl for the first time
In the late 1980s, a unique alt-rock group coagulated in the vibrant, vascular streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts, under the name Morphine. As the name suggests, Morphine were preoccupied with delivering music for the soul. Their first two seminal albums, Good and Cure for Pain, established the band’s sultry blues-inspired sound, anchored in bass and saxophone lines and mostly void of guitars.
Between 1992 and 2000, Morphine released five studio albums in total, with the final, The Night, arriving after frontman Mark Sandman’s tragic death following an on-stage heart attack in 1999. The band undoubtedly released their most influential material in the first three albums but remained admirably consistent. However, consistency was also regarded as a limiting factor for the band.
Like Swimming, Morphine’s fourth album and last to be released during Sandman’s lifetime, was criticised by some in 1997 for its lack of salient hits and the band’s vapid refusal to build upon their sonic niche. This assertion carries a degree of truth at face value, but upon repeated listens, the album serves a satisfying expansion on a robust early oeuvre.
Stylistically, Like Swimming is by no means audacious; retracing their footsteps, the group offer a selection of smokey, salacious backroom blues. The title track is a perfect example of this ethereal texture: Sandman’s crooned lyrics and the ubiquitous, pulsing sax lines soak into the background but construct a resonant monolithic image.
The sliding neck shaker, ‘Hanging on a Curtain’, marks another subdued highlight. A smooth, drawn-out intro sets the stage for some of Sandman’s characteristically creepy lyrics that seem to wash over in waves: “Hangin’ on a curtain/Swingin’ like a clock/ Big hand on the seven/ The little hand on top/ You said you like to hear me talk/ You told me not to stop”.
Elsewhere on the album, Billy Conway’s drum kit undergoes some heavier weathering as the band lifts the energy dial a notch. ‘I Know You (Pt. III)’ serves as the album’s opener and a follow-up to parts one and two, which appeared on 1992’s Good. The fitting intro piece bleeds into the groovy crowd-pleaser, ‘Early to Bed’. This more upbeat track benefits from the inclusion of rippling synthesiser effects that trade instances with the punchy, propellant saxophone composition.
Once again, Like Swimming invites listeners to the noir haze of Sandman’s mind. A record that perhaps lacks explorative impetus is redeemed by soothing, groovy numbers that gain vital balance from tempo changes and the pendulous energy of Sandman’s baritone delivery, which at times channels Jimi Hendrix and, at others, Leonard Cohen.
Today, Morphine will reissue this wonderful instalment of their discography via Modern Classics Recordings. For the first time ever, Like Swimming will be available on vinyl with options to purchase in red or blue opaque wax. The gatefold sleeve will also house a 20-page booklet featuring lyrics, unseen photos, ephemera and artwork by Sandman and newly written liner notes by Ryan H. Walsh. The record is available for preorder now for £40.99.
