TEDDY SWIMS Schallplatten & CDs

Review: The debut album from soul, pop and r&b singer-songwriter Teddy Swims, I've Tried Everything But Therapy, is a knowing exercise in pop humour, and an inverted critique of the 21st-Century celebrity condition. Manifesting as a concept first and foremost, Swims stated in an interview that he would put himself "into therapy" only after the album came out, and would until then continue to indulge every other soul-allaying vice - "buying myself a couple more months of freedom, of being a traumatised little s***" - building extensively on the "men will do anything but go to therapy" Internet meme. Even so, the album is a collection of healing songs, dealing with complex issues from substance abuse to tumultuous breakups and is a compelling one at that.

Review: Pop's newest sensation Teddy Swims drops his latest project I've Tried Everything But Therapy, evoking to the New Zealander's unquenchable thirst for the outbound excesses of life. Intended, in his own words, as his last music project before he goes into therapy, the album mixes plodding pop ballads, pristine vocal deliveries, and motivational highs-and-lows to produce a confident array of songs in the key of life. All the tracks are massive cinematic uplifts, a mood which ensured by its booming production, and themes dealing with heartbreak, baggage, memory and exigency.