Latin Quarter's third album sees them on familiar but welcome ground. Lovely, almost twee songs are beefed up by Mike Jones' excellent and uncompromising lyrics whilst Jones himself neither plays nor sings (save for the occasional backing vocal). Steve Skaith is an ideal mouthpiece for Jones. His unique voice, earnest, pleading and yet restrained, gives a distinct pathos and credence to Jones' heartfelt semi-pose. "Race Me Down (Feipe's Song)" has a beautiful melody amidst a song of shanty towns, "Dominion" rails against the senseless killing of animals, "Close This Account" patiently explains why pornography is wrong, and Blameless puts America right. If this sounds like the work of trendy dilettantes and dogmatists, then think again, "Swimming Against The Stream" simply doesn't sound like that. Inspired. John Aizlewood (of Q Magazine)
 

This is the third, and finest album, from a band whose rise to maturity has been dramatic. Latin Quarter have a pop album of enduring good quality ... producers David Kershenbaum and Paul McKenna have given their sound a wonderful new sheen and confidence. "Swimming Against The Stream" is full of easy swinging melodies, offbeat musical ideas and challenging lyrical suggestions. Steve Skaith's clear, high singing voice (on great form) is played off against Yona Dunsford's equally sweet vocals, in some truly mellow pop choruses. Underneath, the songs are busy with ideas: an array of percussion sounds, new instrumentation and guest musicians like David Lindley...
Latin Quarter have not only returned with a new elegance, but also with a new sharpness to both their sound and their political commitments. Behind the modern chart production, subtle protest songs are lurking: "A Slow Waltz For Chile" hits the mark exactly, and is surprisingly moving. The title track comments bleakly on American civil liberties, while the best number is "After Maralinga" (a cheery tale of nuclear testing in the Pacific), which cuts its swirling pop path through an intro of didgeridoo, harmonica and echoing guitars. It's haunting stuff. Anthony Denselow, (The Sound)