With The Future Of The Past, John Nilsen & SWIMFISH deliver twelve songs that lean on harmony, melody, and a band chemistry you can hear from the first bar. The group’s fifth album builds on a foundation of Americana and rock, but it is the way those elements are shaped that makes the record stand out. Three-part vocal harmonies rise and fall across arrangements built from acoustic and electric six- and twelve-string guitars, piano, organ, bass, drums, and percussion, giving the songs a sense of motion and warmth that never feels overproduced.

What really carries the album is how unified it feels. These are not tracks stacked together, they are songs in conversation with one another. The rhythm section keeps everything grounded, the guitars color the edges, and the vocals do the heavy lifting emotionally. There is a natural flow from track one through track twelve that makes the record feel less like a playlist and more like a single, cohesive piece of work. You do not just hear it. You feel it.

Nilsen’s songwriting is at the center of that connection. His melodies have a classic, easy pull, but the lyrics dig deeper, weaving together memories of childhood streets, neighborhood haunts, and the places where big dreams first take shape. The Future Of The Past moves freely between looking back and pushing forward, finding poetry in how the past shapes the present and how the future grows out of both. There is a quiet emotional weight running through these songs, balanced by a sense of wonder and curiosity that never lets them turn inward.

That perspective comes naturally to Nilsen. A lifelong resident of Oregon, his music has always carried the imprint of the region. Rivers, forests, shifting weather, and wide-open landscapes have long influenced the tone and pacing of his work. He began studying piano with his mother at six, taught himself guitar at twelve, and later earned a degree in English from Southern Oregon University, a background that still shows in the way his songs balance craft with storytelling.

Over the years, Nilsen has built a career that spans both critical respect and a loyal audience. He has sold more than one million CDs, earned Yamaha Piano Artist status, and was inducted into the Oregon Music Hall of Fame in 2024. Yet nothing about The Future Of The Past sounds like an artist resting on reputation. If anything, it feels like a band still hungry to refine its voice and push its songs further.