Water Colours
| Water Colours | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Swimming With Dolphins | ||||
| Released |
May 13, 2011 (digital release) May 17, 2011 (physical release) | |||
| Genre | Electronica, new wave, synthpop, indietronica | |||
| Length | 38:05 | |||
| Label | Tooth & Nail | |||
| Producer |
Brandon Ebel (executive) Aaron Sprinkle, Zack Odom, Kenneth Mount | |||
| Swimming With Dolphins chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| New Release Tuesday | [2] |
| Jesus Freak Hideout |  [3] |
| Alternative Press | [4] |
| Cross Rhythms | [5] |
| Louder Than Music | [6] |
| Review Rinse Repeat | [7] |
Water Colours is the debut studio album by the American electronica band, Swimming With Dolphins. It was released on May 13, 2011 on iTunes[8] and in physical CD format on May 17, 2011.[9]
On May 25, 2011, Swimming With Dolphins released an album trailer for the release on its YouTube channel.[10]
In June, 2011, Austin Tofte did an interview with PupFresh.com about the album and Swimming With Dolphins in general.[11]
In September 2013, Tofte did an interview with Chris Herlihy's weekly syndicated radio show and talked about the band in general, which included a look back at the album.[12]
Reception
The album received overall positive reviews from multiple professional music sites, all agreeing that the album was catchy and full of "vibrant, sugary synthpop" along with "thoughtful lyrics". However, New Release Tuesday and Jesus Freak Hideout both pointed out a low point of the album being Tofte's one use of "hell" as a profanity in the song "Diplomat".[2][3]
Track listing
All songs written and composed by Austin Tofte.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Holiday" | 3:59 | ||
| 2. | "Easy" | 3:37 | ||
| 3. | "Sleep To Dream" | 3:28 | ||
| 4. | "Diplomat" | 3:28 | ||
| 5. | "Watercolours" | 3:15 | ||
| 6. | "Jacques Cousteau" | 3:37 | ||
| 7. | "I Was A Lover" | 3:34 | ||
| 8. | "Captured" | 4:27 | ||
| 9. | "Happiness" (featuring Sunsun) | 4:47 | ||
| 10. | "Good Times" (featuring Mod Sun) | 3:53 | ||
Total length: |
38:05 | |||
Personnel
- Swimming With Dolphins
- Austin Tofte - lead vocals, keyboards, piano, drums, synthesizers, programming, engineer, audio mixer
- Additional musicians and production
- Sarah Beintker - additional vocals on track 1 & 3
- Sunsun - additional vocals on track 9
- Mod Sun (Derek Smith, formerly of Four Letter Lie) - additional vocals on track 10
- Bobby Parker - horn instruments on track 8
- Brandon Ebel - executive producer
- Aaron Sprinkle - producer on track 1, 3, 7 & 8
- Zack Odom - co-producer on track 2, 4, 5, 6, 9 & 10
- Kenneth Mount - co-producer on track 2, 4, 5, 6, 9 & 10
- Troy Glessner - mastering
- Micah Dean Johnson - A&R production
- Will Stevenson - management
- Andrew Smith - photography
Chart performance
| Chart (2011) | Peak positions |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Heatseekers Albums[13] | 31 |
| U.S. Billboard Christian Albums[14] | 40 |
Music videos
- Lyric videos
Notes
- "Sleep To Dream" was the first and only single off the release. It was made available a few weeks in advance of the album's debut.[15]
- "Sleep To Dream" was added as a track to two of Tooth & Nail's 2011 compilation releases: Tooth & Nail Records Summer Sampler 2011[16] and A Very Tooth & Nail Christmas Sampler.[17]
- The song "Jacques Cousteau" is based off the oceanographer of the same name. According to Tofte, the band's name was inspired by the 1980s documentaries that Cousteau filmed and starred in.[18]
References
- ↑ AllMusic overview and review
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Newreleasetuesday.com overview and review". New Release Tuesday. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Jesus Freak Hideout review". Jesus Freak Hideout review. Retrieved May 9, 2014.
- ↑ Alternative Press review
- ↑ Cross Rhythms overview and review
- ↑ Louder Than Music review
- ↑ Review Rinse Repeat review
- ↑ "Water Colours on iTunes". iTunes. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ↑ "Water Colours on Amazon.com". Amazon.com. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ↑ "Swimming With Dolphins Water Colours Album Trailer". YouTube. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
- ↑ "Pup Fresh interview with Austin Tofte of Swimming With Dolphins". PupFresh.com. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ↑ "Austin Tofte (Swimming With Dolphins) on Chris Herlihy". YouTube. Retrieved May 19, 2014.
- ↑ "Water Colours Heatseekers Albums chart history". Billboard.com. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Water Colours Christian Albums chart history". Billboard.com. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
- ↑ "Tooth & Nail announces Swimming With Dolphins' "Sleep To Dream" single". Tooth & Nail Records. Retrieved May 21, 2014.
- ↑ "Tooth & Nail Records Summer Sampler 2011 overview". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
- ↑ "A Very Tooth & Nail Christmas Sampler overview". Jesus Freak Hideout. Retrieved May 24, 2014.
- ↑ "An Evening with Austin Tofte - Swimming With Dolphins interview". Tumblr. Retrieved May 19, 2014.