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Biographie
Founded by school mates and guitarists Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge, with later the addition of Franklin’s brother Graham and drummer Paddy Pulzer, members first began playing together under the moniker Shake Appeal in 1984. Despite the subsequent breakdown of Shake Appeal in 1989, Franklin and Hartridge knew they needed to develop a sound of their own, and looked for ways to build on the music of alternative rock outfits Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, and Dinosaur Jr. Franklin went on to write and compose the songs “Volcano Trash”, “Afterglow”, and “Son of Mustang Ford”, which found their way on to a demo that ultimately landed in the hands of Alan McGee of Creation Records.
Swervedriver subsequently signed to Creation and in line with the current trend released a number of EPs in place of a full-length. “Song of Mustang Ford” EP arrived in July 1990, reminiscent of Hunter S Thompson’s drug-fueled escapades across the American West. The EP earned rave reviews from DJs and the musical press and was followed by their second EP “Rave Down” in November. After signing with American label A&M, the group issued their third EP “Sandblasted” and embarked on their first U.S. tour. The full-length “Raise” hit the shelves in September 1991, extending the group’s fascination with cars and charting at No. 44 on the UK Albums Chart. Following the EP “Never Lose That Feeling”, Swervedriver set off on their first headlining tour on the U.S. alongside indie rock act Poster Children.
Following the departure of the majority of the band’s members, drummer Jez Hindmarsh and bassist Steve George joined the group to record Swervedriver’s sophomore album “Mezcal Head”. Produced by Alan Moulder, the album incorporates American indie rock, alternative rock and shoegazing, in a clear and focused way. The album was supported by an initial tour of the UK, before heading over to the U.S. alongside Shudder to Think and The Smashing Pumpkins. By this point the band’s American popularity had swelled, enamoured by Franklin’s narrative and Hindmarsh’s heavy-hitting drums. Swervedriver’s third studio album “Ejector Seat Reservation” received no label promotion, due to A&M believing the album wouldn’t return well, and the band were subsequently dropped by the label. Despite the poor sales, critics have argued “Ejector Seat Reservation” as a creative high for Franklin et al., and Swervedriver’s greatest musical achievement.
Adopting a simpler recording process and song structures, the band’s fourth album “99th Dream” was released in February 1999. Like its predecessors the album earned favourable reviews from critics however couldn’t halt the inevitable hiatus that followed. Franklin went on to record and tour with Toshack Highway, followed by Adam Franklin & Bolts of Melody, and Hartidge founded a distribution company. Swervedriver however returned in April 2008 and embarked on a reunion tour starting with a show at Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival. Followed by a host of other performances, the band released their first album in 17 years “I Wasn’t Born to Lose You” in March 2015.
Avis
I'm a fan of all Adam Franklin-fronted groups (Magnetic Morning, Toshack Highway, Bolts of Melody), which speaks to the man's songwriting proficiency and prowess. June 23, 2016, at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne was only the second time I've managed to catch an actual Swervedriver show, which is what I always ultimately crave when seeing those other (also excellent) groups. The sound at Corner was excellent, and the crowd size was healthy (est.200) but under capacity, making it easy to get up front for a good look at the sonic wizardry going on. So what happens at a 2016 Swervedriver show? Well, if you look at the setlist, they played a lot of material from their excellent 2014 record "I Wasn't Born to Lose You," and a few songs from each of their four albums from the nineties. The dual lead guitars (Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge) are heavily augmented with effects pedals, and each is fed into a Vox as well as a Marshall amp (I assume also split for stereo-panning). Bass on this night was handled by Mick Quinn of Supergrass (playing through Ampeg), and on drums was Mikey Jones, who plays on the Bolts of Melody records. So it was only two original members, but this was just fine, as Swervedriver is really focused on the guitars and Franklin's voice. Watching them play, it is notable that a lot of activity is dervied from effect pedal embellishment, and Franklin in particular has an effortless style that appears that he is doing very little with his hands. Perhaps its the 30-odd years of playing together, but their combined tone is absolutely divine.
ben-morgan-1
This was a gig of two halves for me... Raise is an album I'd played to death (the tape finally broke!)in the early 90s and every swirly riff was as familiar as a favourite t-shirt. Every track a piece of genius. Hearing it live made me feel at home. I was where I should be - down the front doing Camden lurches. It brought back all those feel-good feelings of my early 20s. I even had a tear in my eye as they played the first track. Nostalgia aside, the live performance was just what you'd want - a more visceral version of the record, musicianship intact. The drummer was incredible.
Then there was a short interval before Mezcal Head. I'd never really got into this album in the same way. I'm not sure why. Maybe a bit less melodic and psychedelic? There were some good moments but I still couldn't really get into it and was noticing the slightly out of tune singing!
It was a really cool gig though. Great small venue. I've not only ordered the album on CD, I bought the Raise T-shirt - I haven't bought a band T-shirt since Ride's in 1990!
fionamacdonald-1
I've loved this band since the 90s, it was one of the shows I was looking forward to the most. However it was a huge disappointment, not on Swervedriver's part though. It was the venue. The sound was very muffled, I couldn't hear the vocals and one of the guitars was way too loud. This is the third time I've been to a show at Red 7 and every time the sound has been this way. I think that was my third and last time that I'll be attending a show at Red 7. I hope to see Swearvedriver in the future at a venue with decent sound mixing so I can enjoy the talent that this band really has.
denise-etter-lindgre
Great show. Make sure you see them live before they disappear again. Very underrated band, those songs from 20 years ago have not aged! For fans of my Bloody Valentine and Ride. For people who like loud guitars.
lio1970
