Swimmer - 40th Anniversary Edition

Steven Lindsay's songwriting, like his singing, is tasteful, cultured (two references to painter Andrew Wyeth in the first five songs, including one titled after his masterpiece, "Christina's World"), and a bit dull. The guitars chime, the machine-made beats burble, and Lindsay contemplates existence, from dead-end "Prospect Street" to a "Big New Beginning" in what sounds suspiciously like LA But there is a difference between swimming and treading water that he doesn't seem to recognize. ~ William Ruhlmann