“Swanlights” pulls off a favorite trick of Hegarty’s, as he begins in darkness and then slowly climbs toward the light. His lead vocal is intertwined with samples of his own voice, some of which are backwards-masked and set low in the mix. The drone-like backing forms a fitting counterpart to Hegarty’s wistful vocal and makes a sharp contrast to the strings and piano that billow up at the halfway point. Like his most effective music, it finds its stride in that conjoining of avant impulses and more traditional torch-song fare. [Source]
New Music United 