Swervedriver

Swervedriver are an English alternative rock band formed in Oxford in 1989 around core members Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge. Between 1989 and 1998, the band released four studio albums and numerous EPs and singles despite a considerable flux of members, managers, and record labels. By 1993 the band's lineup had settled with Franklin on vocals/guitar, Hartridge on guitar, Jez Hindmarsh on drums, and Steve George on bass. They had emerged with a heavier rock sound than their shoegaze contemporaries, and over the next five years it evolved to include elements of psychedelia, classic pop, and indie rock.

Record label issues and waning interest within the group led to their split at the end of 1998. A decade later, Swervedriver reunited and toured periodically over the next five years, releasing their first new material in fifteen years with the 2013 single "Deep Wound". They have since released two full-length albums, ''I Wasn't Born to Lose You'' in 2015 and ''Future Ruins'' in 2019, with touring stand-ins drummer Mikey Jones and bassist Mick Quinn permanently joining the band.

History

Early years (1984–1989)

Swervedriver have their roots in Oxford when schoolmates and aspiring guitarists Franklin and Hartridge along with Franklin's older brother and vocalist, Graham, and drummer Paddy Pulzer formed the band Shake Appeal in 1984. In 1987, bass player Adrian "Adi" Vines, from Yorkshire, joined the band, and the following year they released their solitary single "Gimme Fever" through Notown Records. Shake Appeal were influenced by late '60s garage rock bands like The Stooges and MC5, drawing similar influences from the sights and sounds of the British Leyland car factory Franklin and Hartridge walked past every day on the way to school. When influence turned to emulation, the members felt they needed to develop a sound of their own. They had meanwhile turned their attention to American alternative rock acts Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, and Dinosaur Jr., and subsequently were inspired "to push out the boundaries of electric guitar within a pop format."

In 1989, after Shake Appeal disbanded, Adam Franklin composed the songs "Volcano Trash", "Afterglow", and "Son of Mustang Ford" (which would become Swerverdriver's first single). The former bandmates were impressed with his work and assembled at Union Street Studios in Oxford to record a demo, with Adam Franklin shifting to lead vocals and his brother singing backup. Soon thereafter, Graham Franklin and Pulzer left the band to pursue other musical interests. Growing tired of the local scene, the group had decided to head to London, and there they met drummer and Edinburgh-native Graham Bonnar, formerly of the post-punk band The Shattered Family. Before leaving Oxford, they had handed their demo to Mark Gardener of local band Ride, who in turn passed it on to Alan McGee of Creation Records. McGee signed them almost immediately after listening to the tape (while riding around downtown Los Angeles in the back of a limousine) and Swervedriver was born.

Debut EPs, ''Raise'', and departures (1990–1992)

Instead of debuting with a full-length album, Swervedriver released a series of four-track EPs over the span of a year, subscribing to the popular trend in the early '90s. "If you had 4 songs ready-ish, you would record them there and then and put them all out ASAP. No such thing as 'saving songs for the album' back then," explained Hartridge. The tracks were recorded at The Greenhouse & Falconer Studios in London and were all produced by the band. Swervedriver's debut offering, '' Son of Mustang Ford'', was released on 16 July 1990 and included the song "Kill the Superheroes", one of Franklin's first attempts at writing in an alternate tuning. Franklin stated in ''NME'', "''Son of Mustang Ford'' was based on the '' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' idea – driving around, out of your box, over America's landscapes." The EP was characterized as "a chromium-plated piece of automobile romanticism." The group launched the release with an appearance on the John Peel BBC Radio 1 show on 31 July 1990, performing a select B-side from each of their three debut EPs along with the song "Over" (which would not see an official release for 15 years). The release of '' Rave Down'', the second EP in the series, followed in November. Mary Anne Hobbs called its title track "a cyclone of wild, swollen riff machinery that sounds like it's been played with dislocated shoulder joints." Both EPs received favorable reviews and their title singles made their way into the UK indie and metal charts. However, mainstream British music press soon shifted their focus to bands who fit easier into the shoegazer mould. The group began gaining popularity in the United States, and in early 1991 Swervedriver signed with American label A&M Records and went on their first US tour, a brief run of shows in support of Ned's Atomic Dustbin that kicked off at the Marquee in New York City. On 22 July 1991, their third EP, '' Sandblasted'', was released with the title single reaching number 67 on the UK chart and being described as "a head-on collision between guitars raging for chaos."

Swervedriver released their debut album, '' Raise'', on 30 September 1991. It was recorded at The Greenhouse & Falconer Studios and produced by the band, like their prior EPs, and included the title tracks from all three. Regarding the group's overriding fascination with everything automotive, Franklin had said, "the car thing came from twisting around rock 'n' roll imagery. Chuck Berry used to sing about cars. T. Rex used to sing about cars, and being in the car is just a good place to hear music." The album was praised as "incurably romantic, ettingits rocks off" as one of the "truly great albums made this year" and charted 44th in the UK. Swervedriver toured the UK extensively in support of the album and was invited to a second BBC Radio 1 session on 23 November 1991. Producer Alan Moulder, who had worked with fellow Creation acts The Jesus and Mary Chain and My Bloody Valentine, introduced himself to Franklin at a bar at the University of North London's ULU music venue with the interest of working together. Moulder met the band at Greenhouse studios and there they recorded '' Never Lose That Feeling'', Swervedriver's fourth EP, which featured the ''Raise'' outtake "The Watchmakers Hands" and the track "Scrawl and Scream", a slowed-down reworking of "Afterglow".

Swervedriver then embarked on a proper headlining tour of North America with American indie rock act Poster Children opening. On 6 February 1992, while waiting to cross the Canada–US border for a show in Toronto, Bonnar left the tour bus to "go get a sandwich" and did not come back. Despite having fully intended to complete the tour, artistic differences between band members made it impossible for him to continue. After he spoke to Hartridge, Bonnar told him he wanted out of the band. Dan Davis from Run Westy Run filled in for the next five dates, and then tour manager Phil Ames called on Danny Ingram from Washington, D.C. band Strange Boutique to finish the tour. The group, with Ingram in tow, returned to the US in April 1992 to support A&M label mates Monster Magnet and Soundgarden and then performed a short stint in Japan. Before departing on their second leg, they had mixed ''Never Lose That Feeling'' which was released on 18 May 1992; the Moulder production would be Swervedriver's final release with the original lineup. Hartridge viewed the title track's riff as "a bit of a bridge between ''Raise'' and '' Mezcal Head'' in some ways" and the song would reach number 62 on the UK charts. Using footage from their first leg of touring, A&M representatives Jeff Suhy and Scott Carter produced the video ''On the Road with Swervedriver: A Rockumentary'', which also featured interviews and the music videos for "Son of Mustang Ford" and "Sandblasted", and released it on 14 May 1992. Just as they started to experience a rise in success, Swervedriver would hit another roadblock—in addition to them losing their manager, following a performance at the Hultsfred Festival in Sweden on 8 August 1992, Vines left to form heavy metal-oriented Skyscraper. Having already suffered the loss of Bonnar, the loss of Vines, whom some considered the face of the band, led music press to believe it would be difficult, if not impossible, for the band to sustain their momentum.

''Mezcal Head'' and new lineup (1993–1994)

Ultimately all that remained of the band according to Franklin was, "myself, Jimmy Hartridge and some effects pedals", though Moulder still anticipated producing a full-length Swervedriver album. Franklin and Hartridge laid the groundwork for a new album at EMI's demoing studio near Oxford Street in London, and while recording newly written "Duress" with producer Marc Waterman, he introduced them to Jeremy "Jez" Hindmarsh, ex-drummer of the London band 5:30. (Waterman had produced their first album.) Later that night, Hindmarsh approached the duo at The Murray Arms bar in Camden Town and pitched them his services, including use of his 16-track studio equipment. They accepted and Swervedriver had their new drummer. The group got to work on recording their new album first at Playground rehearsal studios in Camden and then Trident 2 studios in Strutton Ground in Westminster, with Franklin and Hartridge splitting bass duties. Swervedriver would still need a bassist when the show hit the road, and Franklin would encounter him at another bar in Camden. About meeting Essex-native Steve George, Franklin recalled, "He actually came up to me and said, 'You're the guy from Swervedriver. You need a bass player. I'm your man.'"

On 12 August 1993, the band released their second album, '' Mezcal Head'', produced by Alan Moulder and Swervedriver. Franklin and Hartridge credited Moulder for making the album sound "big and clear" and doing "way more for us than we had hoped for." The album debuted at number 55 in the UK and was critically acclaimed—''NME'' asserted, "you are defied not to sit back, ride its massive cadences, revel in its classical form and sleek lines, and... fall helplessly in love." Later reviews praised it "combined the best elements of shoegazing with grunge and even American indie rock" and "really is the lost classic of the shoegaze movement." Its first single, "Duel", garnered both ''NME's'' and '' Melody Maker's'' "Single of the Week" and hit number 60 on the UK chart (their highest charting single to date). The band shot two videos for the single: a self-produced snowboarding excursion at Mount Hood and a big-budget MTV effort set in downtown Los Angeles, which included new bassist George. Swervedriver set off touring for the album in the UK and then moved to North America in late 1993 to join Shudder to Think and the Smashing Pumpkins, solidifying a strong American following in the process.

In early 1994 the album's second single, "Last Train to Satansville", was released. Critics and fans alike were drawn to Hindmarsh's deeper, harder-hitting drumming and Franklin's stream-of-consciousness narrative, describing it as "the height of alt-rock badassery ... with a monster guitar riff and chunky rhythm" and a "menacing spaghetti western bite." The single, along with "Duel", would be featured with songs from other A&M artists in the video game '' Road Rash'' for the 3DO system. Meanwhile, the group continued touring with fellow Creation act Medicine in Europe, Australia, and Japan. Later that year Swervedriver would put out their first single with George on bass, the "limited edition export series, deleted on day of release" 8-track recording, "My Zephyr", on boutique label The Flower Shop.

''Ejector Seat Reservation'' and label troubles (1995)

Swervedriver's third album, '' Ejector Seat Reservation'', was recorded primarily at Church Studios and Konk Studios in Crouch End, North London and again produced by the band and Alan Moulder. Aside from themes of fatalism and flight working their way into its composition, "for some reason we were wanting to reverse the notion of being the band with the American references in our songs and so some very British reference points appeared in the lyrics," explained Franklin. The band had a dispute with McGee over picking the album's launching single—they thought "The Other Jesus" was the obvious choice but McGee overrode them, selecting "Last Day on Earth" in an attempt to capitalize on the current trend perpetuated by Britpop bands like Oasis

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