Out today, the 20th of March, ‘Too Cold To Swim’ is the new single from Art Schop, the project from songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Martin Walker.
Walker describes the acoustic guitar-based track as, “Outrunning the burden of a family fortune and a legacy of madness, a brilliant mind sought sanctuary at the frozen edge of the world”. His gravelly voice, at times somewhat discordant, perfectly conveys the angst and despair of the narrator. Like Walker’s previous releases, there’s more layers to ‘Too Cold To Swim’ than first meet the eye; it’s an intellectual exercise that challenges the listener to really examine what the artist is saying – it certainly takes a couple of runs through to start to get a grasp of what is being said.
Opening with sombre guitar strums, Walker’s first line sets the stage of what to expect:
“Too cold to swim, and I’ve gone and jumped in, to remind myself that I’m alive”
He then goes on to say, “Fifty one days, in this beautiful grave”, which is at first confusing, but when paired with the first idea of jumping in, despite it being too cold to swim – ie, leaping headlong despite knowing the consequences, and it becomes clear that he’s talking about burned bridges behind him. He’s certainly, “an arrogant bastard”!
‘Too Cold To Swim’ is pure poetry, and it would find itself as easily in an anthology as set to music. Despite having primarily acoustic instrumentation, Walker introduces a prog-rock element at roughly the halfway point. He briefly changes the tempo, suggesting a brighter day on the horizon, before returning to the slow melancholy of the first half. ‘Too Cold To Swim’ will challenge listeners and ask them to consider what they know of themselves, and what others know of them – and what they’re prepared to share.
Listen to ‘Too Cold To Swim’ below, and find out more about Art Schop and his music online on his official website, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Spotify.
