Swiftumz shares new single / music video from forthcoming LP on Empty Cellar
VIDEO: "Never Impress" -
YouTube / Raven Sings The Blues / Spotify
"I have a lot of Nikes. Not really high priced collectible ones but more off season sale ones. We wanted to showcase some of them with kind of a footloose intro, hoping someone in corporate sees the video and gives me a hookup. There are some guest feet in this also. This song was written for the album by my close friend and bandmate Marie Davenport and recorded at Alicia Vanden Heuvel’s (The Aislers Set, Magic Trick) house (you can hear her faint backing vocals at the end)" -Swiftumz
Christopher McVicker could capably add a chapter or two to the omnipresent tall tale of perfect pop’s supposed rebirth in 21st century San Francisco. That’s assuming he could be bothered to weigh in on the subject. Still, for the last decade-plus, McVicker’s chosen musical guise of SWIFTUMZ has certainly been inspirational to the current pack. This perennially loose project allows McVicker to shape myriad aural obsessions into something quintessentially his own. From the distorted fuzz-centric moments on his earliest recordings through his more recent punky bursts of shiny pop, McVicker’s work has wowed the fortunate few who have bent an ear in his direction. For sure, “Everybody loves Chris”. Now returning with Simply The Best, he has leveled up.
Aided by some of The City’s finest like-minded volunteers --- KELLEY STOLTZ , folks from THE AISLERS SET, THE BANANAS, DIRTY GHOSTS and many others, Simply The Best is a varied, all-hits endeavor, placing vibey, holed-up bedroom ballads alongside idealized, sparkling pop rock, chilled on one occasion, sharpened on another. Of particular note are the lead guitar contributions courtesy of CHRIS GUTHRIDGE, adding punch to McVicker’s effortlessly cool arrangements. These combinations and contributions always seem to boost Swiftumz beyond expectations, toward the timeless and classic.
The prime testament to McVicker’s songcraft is that he makes it look and sound so easy. In truth, Simply The Best earned its name over six long years of construction, a tumultuous period that saw the tragic loss of a cherished friend and guitarist, the abrupt closure of the record’s pressing plant and countless other personal and professional upheavals. Somehow McVicker, far too blessed to ever be stressed, was able to see through all these hardships and get all these gems cut and polished. It is without question his finest work to date and a collection of songs that we are all so incredibly lucky to finally hear.
Press photo by David Armstrong
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"In the Bay Area, SWIFTUMZ is a songwriter’s songwriter, beloved by small pockets of loyal fans. Hard to pin down what makes SWIFTUMZ so special, it takes elements from Jesus & Mary Chain & classic Bay Area punk pop craft but delivers them in a completely personal way."
- Glenn Donaldson (Reds, Pinks & Purples, Art Museums, Skygreen Leopards, Vacant Gardens etc.)
“One of the only pop songwriters that I’d swap clothes with, Chris McVicker. Every last Swiftumz record is a prize in and of itself…from a guy who can apparently do very little wrong.”
- Still Single
“For all the influences that are easily spotted and all the styles he tries on for size, there's never a moment when it feels like he's on a nostalgia trip or doing any musical sightseeing. Swiftumz are on their own journey, and if the next step is as fun as Everybody Loves Chris, you'll want to take it with them.”
- All Music
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