At a time in the UK when most indie rock bands preferred to gaze at their feet and flop their fringes about to the fey music shimmering from their amps than rock the fuck out, Swervedriver were a deep breath of petrol infused air. The release of their debut album ‘Raise‘ back in 1991 provided the UK with one of the few bands that could stand up to the barrage of incredible alternative music flooding out of America at the time.
Although they hailed from the university town of Oxford, the sounds Swervedriver spawned on this debut album conjured up images of dusty American highways, sandblasted deserts and long, bleak road-trips and this re-mastered version makes it sound as relevant now as it did then. So many classic songs are packed on this album it’s hard to pick favourites but for newbies head to ‘Song Of Mustang Ford‘ and ‘Rave Down‘ for the ultimate introduction to this band.
But it doesn’t end there. Inspired by the band’s recent reunion, Creation have reissued their first three albums, all in digipacks with four bonus tracks on each. Next up was ‘Mezcal Head‘, originally released in 1993 it saw the band expand their gloriously fuzzy psychedelic sound with another stellar collection of songs backed by a sturdier production and massively beefed up sound. Although it didn’t bring Swervedriver the massive acclaim and fame they deserved, it showed the band at the peak of their powers and popularity.
Last in this reissue series is 1995 release ‘Ejector Seat Reservation‘ that, despite featuring one of their best songs ‘The Other Jesus‘ was weighed down with too much filler and marked the down-turn in the band’s career.
The good news, however, is they are back, gigging again and firing on all cylinders. It’s a pleasure to have them around again. And it’s even more of a pleasure to have their past back in beautiful digipack, remastered, extra track form.
James Sherry