Best Album of 2011 candidate - Swiftumz, Don’t Trip
The most curious choice of mine this year, by far. I have always been a fan of “weird” stuff, from post-rock to psych, all the blissed-out stuff, some DEA, Flour, Pale, Hammerbox, Royal Assassins (??) And how could I forget my own musical explorations as “Live with Device.” (I’ll post a link below.) Don’t really know what my personal criteria for “weird” is really but once u listen to it you know - Lots of distortion, missed cues and a total disregard for timing in general, circuitous long solos, etc etc. So when I put this record on I was rather turned off by the opening track. It just sounded too hip for me. You know? But by the time “Don’t cha Want me Back?” is 3/4 over with, you really want to know what this guy is getting at. and the remainder of the first side casually gets up off the couch and eases off the rambling diatribes for delightful lo-fi pop, with clean instrumentation, tight minimal drumming and understated, low key vocals with lyrics that dance around excellent ratios between generous determination & playful resign. l-o-v-e the result 4-e-v-a. Segue track “It’s Beautiful” is a fun dalliance & proof Chris McVicker, the name behind Swiftumz, Has a competent ear for samples and is a matchmaker with studio equipment. Side B keeps the fire burning while exploring lyricism through the tenets of Garage. My fav. song on the album is, perhaps, “More than Sleep,” in which mcVicker plainly lays it out without a second thought: “I love her more than sleep.”
The final track, “Drift Away,” is a keenly welcomed derision from the panache of the rest of Don’t Trip, like how a rollerblader effortlessly turns completely around and continues skating backwards. On a boardwalk. 68 degrees in the shade? Swiftumz. This is a brilliant album and I’m keeping tabs on this dude. In fact, I follow him on Twitter and his label, both of which provide about 70% of the funny I get off that site.
