'Dawn of Swivelization' by The Swivels
Songwriter Carter Hunnicutt’s pace is a steady one. Performing with Those XCleavers in the ‘80s and later The Flat Rabbits, he took time off from music in 1990 for a job that provided insurance for his family. The former firefighter/EMT got back into music again working with conceptual band Xposed 4heads initially for the first Lest We Forget concert in 2012. In 2016 he released a solo album shepherdexpress.com/music/local-music/carter-hunnicutt-s-dangerous-world
Now, decades into a music career, Hunnicutt has proclaimed the Dawn of Swivelization. The Swivels’ debut album is designed to get people moving—Hunnicutt’s music has long struck a balance between interesting lyrics and up-tempo grooves.
Track six finishes and the narrator—unreliable it turns out—says, “This completes side one, please turn the record over to enjoy side two.” (It is a CD, so don’t try to turn it over.) Yet the effect is appreciated, especially listeners who dig the nuances of vinyl LPs.
Hunnicutt navigated the pandemic and kept the band on track. With plenty of time for rehearsal, when the Swivels finally got into Riverwest’s High Five Studio, the recording sessions were efficient to the point that the engineer was impressed that the band tracked live in one day.
Hey Hey, We’re The Swivels
The five-piece band includes a mix of veterans: drummer Dan Glaser, bassist Paul Ryan, guitarist Chris Peterson and Hunnicutt’s son Caleb. Lilly Holland, Linda Strain and Francesca Cohen Brown add vocals, Brett Westfahl chimes in on trumpet/flugelhorn. The two generations of Hunnicutts collaborated on the band’s distinctive artwork that refences The Creation of Man by Michelangelo and the Big Bang.
With Hunnicutt’s resume dance grooves, even Caribbean touches are no accident. The songs keep things moving with imaginative lyrics like “tell me about Einstein, Chaucer and Proust” from leadoff cut “I Knew You Were Right,” or exclaiming to be “a poet stuck inside a rhymer” before an outer space synthesizer takes over. Hunnicutt’s personality shines through in his keyboard playing, using organic sounds.
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“Last Man Standing” conjures a Rod Serling tale, the funky shuffle time travels to “after the big accident” and offers a scenario suggested by the age-old comment, I wouldn’t be with you if you were the last man on earth.
The Swivels CD release w/Spud Bucket, 7 p.m. Saturday, March 4 at Linneman’s Riverwest Inn.
