…so says the bold proclamation on the backside of Swervedriver’s 1993 album, Mezcal Head. And while one can only speculate, I’m a firm believer that, sandwiched somewhere between The Rapture and The Temptations, you’d find Swervedriver on JC’s ipod.
My first taste of the band was back in ’91 on MTV of all places. Yes kids, it was back before the advent of the internets and easy access to MP3 downloads and streams. It was also when the “M” in MTV stood for “music” not “mindless” and alterna-VJ Dave Kendall hosted the regular “120 Minutes” program announcing bands with his lispy British accent. “Next up, Swuuuuuhhvdrivahhhhhhh!!” From the kitchen I heard the machine-gun drum riffs opening “Rave Down” and it was the beginning of a 15 year love affair. Of course, as with most love affairs, the sex sometimes got boring and I would occasionally get drunk and wake up to The New Pornographers. But after all this time I still get turned on by the fat-bottomed bassline in “The Other Jesus”…
Landing at Creation Records in the early ‘90s was probably more curse than blessing for the band despite some of the legends spawned by the label. Sheer A&R genius couldn’t keep Creation from bleeding pounds sterling and, after the release of Raise and Mezcal Head, Swervedriver was ultimately flushed by not only Creation but A&M which had distributed the band’s CDs in the US. By the late ‘90s you’d have had better luck finding that Moby Grape first pressing than Swervedriver in your local record emporium. Recorded right before the band was punted into record label purgatory, Ejector Seat Reservation was never released in the US and would become one of those elusive collectibles only available in hand-wrapped cellophane. And in one final kick in the nuts by the record industry, Swervedriver was subsequently signed then sacked by Geffen before it could even release its final studio effort, 99th Dream. Lesser bands would’ve packed it in.
But enough industry insider bullshit. What about the music you say?
Raise chugs along like a freight train, opening with the sheer muscle of “Sci-Flyer”, dripping with fuzzy wah-wah goodness and a brutish rhythm section that sits heavy on your chest and dares you to breathe. Perhaps the only shortcoming here is Adam Franklin’s lost-in-the-wilderness vocals which simply lack the horsepower to rise above. While the band was often tagged as shoegazer – whether due to its thick layers of guitar or Franklin’s unassuming stage presence – take a listen to something like Sugar’s “What You Want It To Be” and you’ll hear more similarities there than you will in anything by My Bloody Valentine. The B-side cut “Flawed” borrows from SST-era Dino, Jr but without the trademark slop of Mr. Mascis.
With the band’s follow-up, Mezcal Head, the Swervies slow things down with sprawling epic hypno-drones routinely stretching past the 5 minute mark. “Duel” lives up to its name alternating between growling power chords and delicate arpeggios. It’s the third album, Ejector Seat Reservation, where the band’s sound turns the corner from stock-in-trade tube stack to a Byrds-meets-the-MC5 kinda thing. Jangly guitars, harmonizing and synth cut through the slabs of distortion and Franklin’s vocals actually sound like a feature rather than a bug.
After a decade supported by little more than a couple of modest fan sites and Adam Franklin’s occasional solo work, Swervedriver staged a reunion tour last year and its first three albums have finally been “reissued, reissued, repackaged”. I caught them last May at Denver’s Marquis Theater and they burned down the house with an ear-splitting show every bit as tight as my last encounter with the band at Slim’s, San Francisco in ‘98.
Back then, as a cash-strapped deadbeat, I wandered up to the modest merch table and could only scrape up $10 toward a $15 shirt. In a rare gesture of rock ‘n roll charity, the grizzled roadie spotted me the difference. My ex now has custody of the shirt, but I still recall the incident as emblematic of a band in it for the long haul. Despite the occasional siren song of the ‘next big thing’, Swervedriver keeps me coming back for more.
EDITOR’S NOTE: I’m happy to say that this is the first article by new contributor Xavier Van Zandt, an American writer currently on assignment in Tajikistan. Far out. He’ll be introducing himself soon, but the dude knows his shit and seems to be nicer than I am. Look out for more good stuff from him. Since the Decibel Tolls now has three writers, the names with be included at the end of the article, which presumes that you, the reader, cares which one of us scaliwags waxed intellectual today.
MP3 :::
Swervedriver – The Other Jesus
Swervedriver – Year of the Girl
