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Swingin’ Doors
Unhinged, Swingin’ Doors CD SD51795, 1995
(31:18)
New wave goes to the country
It’s a dumb truism, but so much of popular vocal
music is simply in the voice. You either take to a
singer’s sound or not, and usually there’s not
much to be done about it. For example, as much as I admire,
and even enjoy, Neil Young’s music, his voice–on
its own–just rubs me the wrong way.
Swingin’ Doors has two lead singers and
songwriters. And one of them–Jenifer
McKitrick–could sing the phone book in her sour plum
voice and I’d listen. To my ears, it’s an
instantly memorable voice. The other, Dwight Been, has a
pleasant laid back countyish baritone, but lacks an edge, a
beat, a something that would make it stick in my ear. The
songs on Unhinged are pretty evenly divided
between McKitrick and Been so, for me, it’s a
fifty/fifty album.
The band is a talented quartet with a sound that mixes
country folk instrumentation with new wave songs. The songs
are about, yes, love and not surprisingly the best one leads
off. McKitrick’s "Jaco" tells the story of a
self-centered bass player. It’s a nicely-structured
song, with a relaxed lilt to the beat, perfect for jukebox
play in the variety of sound it manages to achieve in just
over three minutes. There are some telling lines, such as
"you looked so good but you lived so bad/your bass
guitar is all you ever had." Stephanie Lee’s
melancholy violin nicely counterpoints McKitrick’s
fuzz-box Telecaster on the bridge, whose lyrics suggest that
only in heaven will the two lovers both get what they need.
Then, up comes Been’s "So Pretty So
Fast," where his low-key vocal fits the droll pick-up
song ("I’m new to this city/darlin’ can I
ask/how’d you get so pretty so fast?") Of the
remaining songs, McKitrick again gets the nod in my book,
with songs that have sharp lyrics and melodies that take
unexpected turns. "Homeless" uses homelessness as
an analogy for unrequited love. "I Came Down" has
a riff reminiscent of Edie Brickell’s
never-live-it-down hit, "What I Am" as part of an
interesting episodic (not your standard ABA or AABA) melody
line. "Offer Me the World" acknowledges
"it’s a lie anyway."
Been’s songs, like his singing, are more
straightforward. You can figure out "You’re Just
Her Tattoo" from its title. Of "On and On,"
my five-year-old daughter said "that was a cowboy
song." Yep, sure was, honey.
Finally, a gentle countryish take on Blondie’s
"Dreaming," with McKitrick again up front, closes
the album sweetly. Fun stuff from a good band with real
potential. I hope to hear from them
again.– Glenn Brooks
performers
Jenifer McKitrick, vocals, Telecaster guitar; Dwight
Been, vocals, acoustic guitar; Diane Glaub, drums; Stephanie
Lee, bass, violin, background vocals.
production
Produced by Swingin’ Doors. Recorded and mixed by
Kyle Statham, and by David Bell and Stephanie Lee.
song titles
Jaco • So Pretty So Fast •
Homeless • I Came Down • You’re
Just Her Tattoo • Offer Me the World •
One Eye Love • On and On • Your Word
Against Mine • Dreaming
where to get it
Swingin’ Doors
4104 24th St, #132
San Francisco CA 98114
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