Don't Trip

San Francisco’s Chris McVicker—a.k.a. Swiftumz—writes songs that showcase a love of the best of ‘90s-era indie rock. His 2012 debut album, Don’t Trip, boasts 10 songs crafted with a relevant savvy, yet trimmed in all the sonic trimmings of indie rock’s heyday. The opening cut, “Don't Cha Want Me Back,” is a perfect example of this. The tune was originally penned for Hunx & His Punx, but here McVicker takes back what’s his and slathers the song in reverb and the sort of blistering feedback overload last heard on recordings by Flying Saucer Attack. Similarly, “Day We Met” blends backward psychedelic leads with a Rickenbacker jangle and nonchalant whispered singing, recalling Bobbie Gillespie–era Jesus and Mary Chain. The catchy, bass-heavy “4Eva” dips into Glaswegian-tinged C86 pop before the monotone drones of “Angelita” pulses and chirps like the pre-Stereolab outfit McCarthy. “More Than Sleep” sounds so legitimately Creation Records circa 1991 that somebody could use the tune to trick Alan McGee into thinking he'd released this way back when.