SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: CURRENT SWELL – PEACEKEEPER

CURRENT SWELL
PEACEKEEPER
BLUE HERON MUSIC

Life itself has so many moments, that when it comes to films or stories, creators will utilize montages to skip through certain chunks of time. Current Swell’s newest EP, Peacekeeper, feels like a montage for all the happy little experiences, gathering life’s most sentimental feels into five songs. It’s an album that captures that coming of age energy and encourages the listener to let the memories wash over them like a wave gently lapping over sand.

The sad thing about the montage is that so much is going on, yet we only get a glimpse of it all through selective shots or pieces of information. Everything is so temporary because the memories or moments are fleeting, similar to “Ba Ba Song”, in which the song itself rightfully goes, “Ba ba ba ba ba ba ba,” which opens a spot in one’s mind where reminiscing and longing for the good memories occurs. “Peacekeeper” also has a similar lull of “Sha na na na, sha na na na na, sha na,” that captures the essence of things passing by, the empty spaces filled with the peaceful sounds of Current Swell’s creation.

Although the montage eventually has to end, it doesn’t make letting go of it any easier. This is reflected in Peacekeeper as a whole, for the final song, “It’s All Right”, brings the EP to a close with a change in pace that drastically slows down and saddens the atmosphere that’s been conjured in comparison to the previous four tracks, as if the song itself is reassuring the listener that is in fact all right. At this point one wishes there was more to the EP than just these five songs, and the feelings they bring. If it was longer, however, then that temporary nature of this collection would not be so precious now, would it?

Peacekeeper is a treasure for those who have the chance to listen to it. It’s a montage that is influenced by the songs but created on an individual basis by the listeners. Although the EP may pass by you quickly, enjoy it while it lasts, and revisit it if you please, for everything in life is short and it’s worth making the most of what we have while we have it. Although the songs here feel temporary, Current Swell and Peacekeeper do not appear to be going anywhere.

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