Returning to my intermittent series on quality dreampop from around the corner from me (I almost wrote “from the Six” but nope, can’t do it), we’ve got Toronto trio Swiims, who celebrated the one-year anniversary of their debut album Into The Blue Night yesterday.

It’s an assured debut that doesn’t lag or get too samey over its dozen tracks, but also knows to not overstay. It’s a testament to the band already knowing who they are and what they do well – hazey, melodic mid-tempo dream-pop gems that know when to step on the gas a little bit.

“All I Die For” is one of the standout tracks from the record, and comes with a fun and simple video, and there’s also a live performance clip recorded at The Tranzac at the start of the year.

They’re playing in a couple weeks at The Baby G, headlining a lineup of local shoegaze and dreampop curated by DKFM DJ Simon Leclerc; it’ll probably be my last gig of 2024 and after a lot of globetrotting this year, it’ll be nice to wrap up with something literally and figuratively close to home.