Katie Schottland played in several bands before embarking on her own solo project under the moniker Swimming Bell. Her debut EP The Golden Heart is a reflection, a reverberous voice in the dark, framed by picked guitar and wistful percussive textures. For a moment, listening to "Route 72" with closed eyes, I was transported from my desk to a forest clearing on a dewy morning, birds circling above. "In these times of stolen dreams / how could I know you well?" sings Schottland, alone, later joined by harmonies that sound like the echoes of those perished dreams. The simpler "September on Dekalb" is a lo-fi midnight confession, a love letter forgotten in a coat pocket. Swimming Bell takes you somewhere quieter, in a gorgeous, unperturbed manner. Catch her live at Pete’s Candy Store on October 7th. – Geena Kloeppel
