Formed in Essex in 1989 by brothers Daniel and Tom Glendining, Headswim released their debut album ‘Flood’ in 1994. Following the death of their brother Matthew after a long battle with leukaemia, the band went on hiatus and re-emerged in 1987 with their sophomore album ‘Despite Yourself’. 

Veering away from the grunge sound of their debut, ‘Despite Yourself’ was a reflective album, exploring themes of death and spirituality, taking the band in a more alternative rock direction.

Now, almost 20 years down the line, Trapped Animal reissue this stunning body of work, with 7 bonus tracks, on vinyl for the very first time.

Headswim were a band I was certainly aware of at the time.‘Tourniquet’ was a top 30 single and saw the band appear on mainstream UK shows such as TOTP and TFI Friday, but maybe it was the Radiohead comparisons that put me off purchasing the album at the time. My bad, as ‘Despite Yourself’ has much broader influences than Thom Yorke’s crew, but that said, it certainly is not an easy listen.

The mid 90’s was such a rich breeding ground for rock music, a time when alternative was mainstream, and music had a dark edginess to it. Given the lyrical themes, ‘Despite Yourself’ fits the musical landscape perfectly.

Lead single ‘Tourniquet’ opens proceedings. It is the perfect mid 90’s alt rock single. The falsetto vocals and the moody backing builds to an abrasive chorus that owes as much to Soundgarden and U2 as it does Radiohead. 

‘Hype’ comes on like a grungy U2, Dan’s vocals certainly have a Bono feel to them here.

The acoustic led ’Clinging To The Wreckage’ is emotive and heartfelt. Dan pouring his heart on his sleeve and not for the last time during the course of this album.

It’s no surprise that the radio friendly ‘Better Made’, with its soaring strings and uplifting chorus was a single, it’s rich and instantly gratifying. Elsewhere, ‘Old Angel Midnight’ sounds like something off The Cult’s self-titled ‘94 album, which makes sense. The acoustic led, stripped-back ‘Holy Ghost’ is simple and full of harmony. It builds with strings and keys that just help to accentuate the beautiful feel of the song. 

As a whole ‘Despite Yourself’ is a deep album that keeps giving the more you scratch beneath the surface. The soaring vocals and instrumentation give an ethereal feel and the abrasive guitars add punch. The trip-hop beats of ‘Wishing I Was Naive’ and ‘Moving On’ are the only thing that ages the album, yet as a whole it sounds pretty fresh in 2024.

The Radiohead comparisons are realised on the bonus tracks rescued from the Sony archives. The haunting ‘Last Subway Coma’ and the rockier, Soundgarden feel of ‘Plagued’ are certainly worth exploring more than once.

I was also surprised that I knew ‘No Ticket’ really well, is it a cover? A bit of digging and turns out it was previously available on ‘Summer Slam’, a compilation CD given away free with Kerrang! Remember, that was one of the only outlets for new music pre-streaming days for us music junkies. It’s the strongest of the bonus cuts for sure and should’ve been on the album. 

An alternative version of ‘Tourniquet’ with strings recorded at Abbey Road wraps the album up and adds even more cinematic soundscapes to a 90’s classic. 

1998 may seem like a lifetime ago, yet ‘Despite Yourself’ holds up well after all these years.

Hats off to Trapped Animal for the latest in their Headswim reissues, reacquainting those who were fans with the band, hopefully gaining some new ones along the way, and ultimately giving this lost 90’s classic the treatment it truly deserves. 

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Author: Ben Hughes