There are some albums that come along just when you need them: In 2014 I found myself in my mid-thirties, living in a fairly squalid house share with a rotating cast of strangers following the end of a near decade-long relationship, wondering what had happened and what on Earth I should be doing about it. Enter Niagarama by Glaswegian art-pop maximalists How to Swim, an album that seemed to be going through many of the same issues. Thankfully it was also packed with fantastic tunes – I listened avidly and it was an important part of processing my emotions and getting myself into a position to move on with my life (though that didn’t stop me from keeping the album on regular rotation afterwards).
And then… nothing. It would be ten years until they made a welcome return with Bars ‘n’ Loners (though there was a greatest hits compilation and collection of rarities in 2018, covering the band’s first 15 years), with the band on hiatus as they pursued other projects. Thankfully that seems to have given them the writing bug as 2025 saw them announce not one but six, yes six, new albums! The first of the hexalogy, Greek Active was unveiled recently.
Kicking off with a bar of stomping glam rock drums, joined by juddering guitars and bass and a squiggle of synth, ‘Through Glass’ features the first of several lyrical professions of love from frontman Gregor Barclay, though promises to both live and die for the object of the protagonist’s affections are brought into sharper focus by the tellingly honest follow up “I don’t want to be alone again”. ‘Logic+Consequence’, features some beautiful percussive flourishes and high register wakka-wakka guitar, before swirling into a battle for Barclay’s self-esteem with his own backing singers.
My three favourite albums of the year so far (this one, The Burning Hell’s Ghost Palace and Cassels’ Tracked In Mud) have all featured the end of civilisation amongst their central themes – I don’t whether this says more about me or the times that we’re living in. The first of a pair of stunners (along with ‘O Neanderthal Me’) adding some pop to the apocalypse, ‘I Know I’ll Fall’ glides along on a space eddie of synth, marking the “end of the complicated system that kept the lamps burning,” before an outgoing refrain reminds us all of our cosmic insignificance.
‘It’s Only Love’ kicks off with a “do-de-di-do’ section that sound somewhat like The Pointer Sisters’ classic ‘Pinball Number Count’ from Sesame Street played backwards – it’s backed by blaring horns, a somewhat jagged Latin guitar break and a pounding section spelling out the track’s title, a trick which rarely fails to get me singing along. Lead single ‘Magazines’ not only features one of my favourite videos of the past 12 months (check it out below) but is also a sprightly, musically upbeat number, which again sees Barclay’s backing vocals turning in on him.
‘Hammers’ is a wonderfully odd slice of catchy art-pop with strong 80s vibes, complete with shuffly vocalised percussion, cowbell, a wandering guitar line, empathic ‘Ah!’s punctuating the vocal lines, and what sounds like it might be a brief balalaika section, all held down by a slinky bass line – an unusual treat and currently one of my favourites on the albums. More of this sort of thing please! ‘Sing Ye Brothers’ is home to the album’s most anthemic chorus, and is a slice of pure jangly twee-pop joy, immediately followed by the very un-How to Swim creepy dystopian synth crawl of ‘Dress You Up Like Her’, before ‘Soul One’ wraps things up with one final declaration of love, to the gentle lilt of a horn section.
It’s a wonderful and eclectic album, which manages not only to withstand the kitchen sink of influences and ideas thrown at it, but to multiply its graces with each one.
We caught up with Gregor Barclay for a guided tour of the new record.
Through Glass – A lot of our tunes are me attempting to write a tune in the style of another artist I like. Fortunately I’m not a great thief, so it never really sounds like the artist I was trying to lift from. This one is me trying to write a Phoenix tune circa 2009. I like that the central “through glass” lyric can be read at least a couple of different ways.
Logic+Conscience – This one is me trying to do Talking Heads and Fela Kuti, and critiquing my inability to read any of the books on my bookshelf. I fear becoming deeply uncurious in my old age – it’s a worry. I think it’s important to remain engaged in culture, even if it’s not explicitly for you. This one is also the second song we’ve done with the word logic in the title, make of that what you will.
I Know I’ll Fall is broadly post-apocalyptic. It’s about fearing a return to the dark ages, and a fear of being forgotten. If society crumbles and the last half of my life looks set to just be The Road, I’d probably bail.
Angelina – This one had a full set of lyrics I didn’t like which I threw out. I’m not 100% sold on what I replaced them with, although I think the middle 8 of this one is really solid, and I like the arrangement. A general sense of yearning.
It’s Only Love – I like that there’s one Spanish word in this one, and a brief Philip K Dick reference. Also any tune that has a “let’s spell out the song’s title” section is a winner in my book.
Magazines – Was me trying to do a Roxy Music. I find it fun that Bryan Ferry’s whole thing back in the day was a kind of contemporary glamour, but now that glamour has faded in the sun like a stack of old Penthouses you found in a shed.
O Neanderthal Me is another post-apocalyptic one: we’re burning our kitchen cabinets for firewood, there’s some kind of emergency broadcast blaring. But the tone is almost celebratory – a bunch of cavemen dancing around the embers of a society that overstretched itself.
Hammers is only very slightly changed from the original demo version I knocked out way back. It’s an unusual groove for us.
It’s Free – this one is about the feeling of possibility you get at the start of a relationship. The rhythm guitar part is lifted from Box Elder by Pavement.
“Sing, Ye Brothers” is a line off a late-period Captain Beefheart album, although the song isn’t anything in that vein. We’re going for some kinda 70s rock thing here; Elvis Costello or Jonathan Richman, or something more recent like Girls. There’s a bit of Werewolves of London in the backing vocals. I like that the second verse is just a gender swapped version of the first – that kinda thing always tickles me.
Dress You Up Like Her – This one is us trying on a hat we don’t usually wear. I wanted it to sound like Hounds of Love or something – big 80s stuff. Lyrically, it’s about trying to recapture something, told through the medium of haberdashery.
Soul One is a kinda horny sex jam but with an intentional naivety to it. I was listening to a lot of Mac Demarco when I wrote this one – there’s undoubtedly some of him in the lead lines, and the general chill vibe. I think the last minute is some of the best stuff we’ve ever recorded.
Greek Active is out now – get in now as a digital download from Bandcamp or stream in all the usual places via this handy Linktree
The next album in the series, Poundstore Diabolism, will be out on 25th April
How to Swim: Facebook / Instagram / BlueSky / TikTok
Review by Paul Maps
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