A sticker on this release proclaims it to be perfect for fans of Owl City and Passion Pit. This isn’t surprising, since Adam Young of Owl City founded this group, leaving once he found success in other guises. The Passion Pit reference is more confusing, but I suppose both groups do share a love for synths and bright melodies. Swimming With Dolphins’ sound is more like an emo singer fronting an electro-rock band such as The Naked And Famous.

And they’re pretty good at what they do. The songs are all engaging, particularly in their use of breakbeats. They’re also all consistently perky, which did mean I occasionally wished that Swimming With Dolphins could learn to paint with darker colours, but that’s a minor complaint. Lyrically, the themes here are life, emotions and love, which means that despite their billing as the “Christian” MGMT, they’re more like the Rated PG MGMT. But I don’t think every Christian song needs to be a restatement of the Nicene Creed, so Water Colours provided a refreshing and interesting listen.

Four out of five stars