Guilty There’s a lot for the Atlanta-born vocalist Teddy Swims to be proud of these days. From the speedy success of his debut album called I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1), to the chart-topping smash of “Lose Control”, paired with a Best New Artist Grammy nomination, plus the wonderful news that his girlfriend Raiche Wright and him are expecting their first child together, leads to the assumption that Teddy Swims must feel like he’s walking on air. The second part of Teddy Swims’ journey in the music world picks up right where he left off, offers stunning vocal performances, and a more optimistic outlook. Teddy Swims shared, “I thought that I was in such turmoil and heartbreak on the first one and it was nothing but questions and there was no real closure. So I thought that was important, especially with the title, I wanted to go into finding love again, learning how to move on, going to therapy and showing the healing process. Like, ‘Here’s me on the other side of all that mess.’ I’m so happy to be here on the other side of that mess, because it’s lovely.” You can feel the passion behind each lyric, each note, each precise beat, as everything clicks succinctly into place on this wonderful sophomore album.
Launching into the bluesy “Not Your Man” is a wise choice of an album opener, as it gathers momentum quickly in the steady beat of the verses that showcases Swims’ incredible range as a vocalist paired with his poise in picking the spots to go into a higher register. The chorus of, “If you can just leave me in the dead of the night / If you can deceive me, lookin’ dead in my eyes / You don’t have to say it, baby, I understand / That I’m not your man / No, I’m not your man / This ain’t how you treat somebody you say you love / I gave you everything, it still ain’t enough / You don’t have to say it, baby, I understand / That I’m not your man / No, I’m not your man,” lets the audience into Swims’ headspace as he navigates through his current relationship. The song lifts the listener up and is gripping to the final note.
”Funeral” is a more soulful version of Teddy Swims’ repertoire, and it relies on some tried and true tricks like organs, a complementing string section, and piano to round out his musical approach. The song puts Swims in the front and center, where he belongs, and he never shies away from commanding the track. The gentle twinkling of a piano opens “Your Kind of Crazy”, that feels like a jazz club throwback, albeit with a R&B style to the vocals that modern artists like Bruno Mars, The Weeknd, and Swims himself have perfected here. The vocal performance shines throughout the song and prevents the record from feeling too similar from track to track.
”Bad Dreams” recounts Teddy Swims’ documented struggles with sleep and how his girlfriend helps him with regulating this issue. He shared in an interview that, “I wake up sometimes every 30 minutes, and she’s been so wonderful and such a holistic person about, ‘Here, take some magnesium, or take some of this and that.’ It has just really helped me…regulating my little nervous system.” The journey that Swims’ takes his audience through his music is truly powerful and worthy of praise as he somehow makes himself relatable and a superstar simultaneously.
The first collaborative song on the record, “Are You Even Real”, features some guest vocals from GIVEON, and the two talented vocalists trade verses and tell a vivid story through their lyrics. The bubbly guitars found on the track are incredibly well-constructed and highlight the vast number of styles brought into Teddy Swims’ music. “Black & White” features a cameo from Muni Long and the duet is a beautiful R&B song that features a great orchestra section paired with incredible, mic-dropping vocal performances.
The front half of the LP closes with “Northern Lights”, a beautiful ballad that finds Teddy Swims recalling a starry night that brings him peace in his life. The chorus brings clarity as he croons, “But in my head, you’re still mine / And I go back every night / I see your face in summer skies / I count the stars inside your eyes / Oh, what went wrong, what went right / Fades away as years go by / We may not have a whole lifetime / But at least we had the northern lights.” It’s a gorgeous and gushing love song about finding the person you want to spend all your days with, even when times get tough or you’re gripping with the fact that noting lasts forever.
The back half opens with current single, “Guilty”, that finds Teddy Swims confessing about his personal life and occasional transgressions as he admits at one point he’s guilty, “Of using medicine as a crutch / On the nights when the voices in my head won’t shut up.” It just makes him all the more human and relatable, albeit with a better set of pipes than most vocalists could ever dream of.
”It Ain’t Easy” navigate further down the path of self-discovery for Teddy Swims as he goes into greater detail on his personal struggles, while “If You Ever Change Your Mind” rallies around a more simplified instrumental approach of an acoustic guitar and piano to tell a story. The brief track clocks in just over the 2-minute mark, yet it leaves a lasting impact with the listener. The final collaborative song on the LP comes on “She Got It” that features key sections with GloRilla and Coco Jones in a R&B banger of a track. It just sounds like a million bucks coming out of the speakers, and Teddy Swims is a very underrated storyteller.
The penultimate song of “Hammer to the Heart” finds Teddy Swims recklessly in love as he recalls in the bridge, “Why do you do this to me? / Leave and come back and repeat / Sound of the crash when you swing / Why do you do this to me? / Leave and come back and repeat / Sounds like it’s just what I need.” “She Loves The Rain” is a powerhouse of a soul-pop song that is basically just Teddy Swims showing off at this point. The chorus line of, “She loves the rain / Maybe that means she can love me somehow,” is a playful comparison of how things are looking up for our soulful hero on I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 2). He is in a much better spot than where we last left him, and you can’t help but root for his continued happiness as he navigates through his personal struggles for all the world to see. The future is looking blindingly bright for Teddy Swims, and something tells me he’s built for this success.