Josef Salvat - Night Swim

Josef Salvat
Night Swim
2016
Spotify

People have been waiting for this record for awhile. Since Salvat released "Open Season" the anticipation was quite high to see what He would be giving us once the full release came around. Night Swim is that record. Josef who was in a sense been writing this record for some time brings a brilliant version of dark pop that still has that catchy quality that will keep you coming back again and again. Even that tracks that come across as a bit lighter and brighter still have this dark layered quality that you don't find anywhere else except in his music. His sound is totally slick and has this really cool air of anti-love which  is bound to bring up comparisons between him and Lana Del Rey. Even tracks that begin a bit slow eventually take a turn that brings you right back around to Salvat's side like on "Punchline". Another dark beauty is "Shoot and Run" which just comes in heavy and holds you right there for the full 4:23 run time of the track. This album is basically a singles parade with almost any track worthy of being on some kind of mainstream radio. When Josef Salvat did his cover of Rihanna's "Diamonds" his talent was clear but you could never imagine an album of this level would be next on his list.

The real meat of the album seems to come in the last four tracks showing off some of Salvat's best songwriting ability. He has this knack for creating music where you know there is something under the surface even though you might not be able to see or hear it. This lack of insight might come across as dread in the hands of another artist but never with Josef Salvat, it is only a sense that there is more to discover. Night Swim really is a great example of taking your time. In Pop music the idea is get out something new as quick as possible to keep apatites satiated but Night Swim, and Josef himself it seems, likes to take its time and unveil itself slowly layer by layer. If there was one critique to lay on Night Swim it would be that even though the tracks all have their own flavor they do tend to rely on the same musical quality which can give the impression of one note. That being said that musical quality is absolutely fantastic and hearing 12 tracks would not bother anyone. This album is going to have a slow burn just because it is what it is, but rest assured this stuff is next level and we will be talking about it quite a bit in the months ahead.

8.2 out of 10