The Innocence Mission return after five years with Midwinter Swimmers, a tender, cinematic exploration of love, memory, and connection that feels as timeless as it is deeply personal.
After a five-year silence, the Innocence Mission emerge with Midwinter Swimmers, a record that feels like both a familiar embrace and a captivating new journey. Karen Peris, Don Peris, and Mike Bitts, the Pennsylvania trio bound by decades of friendship and collaboration, have crafted an album that strikes a delicate balance between expansive, cinematic soundscapes and the lo-fi intimacy of vintage folk-pop.
Critics are already drawing parallels to the band’s beloved 2003 album Befriended, calling Midwinter Swimmers a truly special album that stands as a testament to the Innocence Mission’s enduring ability to comfort and inspire. In Karen Peris’ hands, the seemingly mundane blossoms into a tapestry of profound universality, weaving themes of love, loss, hope, and gratitude into intricate, everyday moments.
"Front and center across the album is Karen Peris’ evocative, tender voice as she tells stories of love, longing, and the lengths we will go to transcend distance in the name of both,” Pitchfork noted. Meanwhile, Shindig! highlighted the album’s timeless quality, describing it as a “trusty friend in sonic form,” ranking Midwinter Swimmers among the band’s finest work.
Among the standout tracks is “This Thread Is A Green Street,” a song Karen Peris describes as “a sort of envisioning the landscape as a world of doorways.” Inspired by how natural and everyday objects can transport us to memories or reconnect us with loved ones, Peris sought to capture “the half-remembered beauty of sing-alongs from our 1970s childhoods.” The recording process, she says, was a constant exploration: “There’s a search in recording that goes on being elusive, in a good way.”
With Midwinter Swimmers, the Innocence Mission reaffirm their reputation as masterful storytellers and purveyors of solace in a chaotic world. The album is a companion for moments of reflection, a testament to the enduring power of connection.