Biography
An eccentric and hyper-literate outfit blending the sensibilities of Scott Walker, Tom Waits, the Teardrop Explodes, and Ride, Animals That Swim proved marginally too eccentric for widespread appeal, yet their singular, half-beatnik and half-psychedelic pop offered a welcome alternative amid the first wave of Brit-pop. The group coalesced in London during 1989 when brothers Hank Starrs, handling vocals and drums, and Hugh Barker, on guitar, began working together as a duo. Trumpeter Del Crabtree came aboard shortly afterward, with guitarist and keyboardist Al Barker—the third sibling—and bassist Tony Coote completing the lineup soon after. Del Crabtree’s mellow yet fractured trumpet approach, reminiscent of a free-jazz take on Chet Baker, emerged as the ensemble’s signature sound, closely followed by the theatrical delivery of Hank’s vocals. Following three years of preparation, Animals That Swim issued their first single, “King Beer,” on the self-operated Beachheads in Space imprint. Both that track and the subsequent “Roy,” a surreal homage to the recently deceased Roy Orbison, earned Single of the Week honors from Melody Maker. Encouraged by favorable notices and respectable sales of the two independent releases, the experimental label Che Records offered a one-off arrangement that yielded the 10-inch Fifty Dresses EP in early 1994. Elemental Music, an offshoot of the larger independent One Little Indian, subsequently contracted the band to produce their debut full-length, Workshy. Drawing on material from the three earlier releases alongside several increasingly eccentric new pieces, the album attracted warmly enthusiastic coverage from the British press and achieved solid indie-level sales, although it vanished from view almost at once after its American issue. A strong follow-up, I Was the King, I Was Really the King, appeared in 1996 yet failed to match the debut’s critical reception or commercial performance. The band dissolved the next year.
Albums
