Space Travel, Rock and Roll…
I ignored Swervedriver up until after I was out of high school. Yes, I am ashamed and yes they are now one of my favorite bands to ever exist. I, like many people I imagine, was thrown off by the many kinds of wrong labels that pinned Swervedriver as some other band. The most obscene was that Swervedriver was a “hard rock” or even possibly a metal band? Even from that point on I just thought of them as that band that had that one song on the Road Rash game. Until finally listening to Mezcal Head just three or four years ago, I realized I had the most skewed and wrong perception of this bands sound. It was amazing. If it hadn’t been for the constant name dropping when shoegaze was mentioned, then I wouldn’t of even thought of listening to them. Cause yet again, they are that band that had that one song on Road Rash, right?
With all that said, I love Swervedriver and you probably should too, at least if you like good old fashioned alternative rock/shoegaze. The album Mezcal Head ranks somewhere up there in my top 10 albums of all time. I think I listened to it constantly in my car to and from work for about 2 or 3 months. It never left. However, despite that album being as great as it is and the amazing songs it contains, it still doesn’t include two of my favorite Swervedriver songs on it. Actually when it comes down to it, none of the albums do and even with a 2 disc retrospective of the bands output, these two songs still are missing. Not that it matters, cause it kind of makes them all the more special knowing that they are somehow hid beneath all the other gems.
The first song is “Flawed”, which can only be found on the Sandblasted promo 12″ or the CD single. It is not available on the 7″ version. Hearing this song driving along on a cool spring day is almost perfect, as that is the memory I have while listening to it actually. I absolutely can’t get enough of the guitar effect used off and on throughout the song that just churns out the ear splitting feedback. Such a great song and unfortunate that it’s destined to remain some exclusive track on a CD single.
Swervedriver – Flawed [MP3]
The second song is “Year of the Girl”, which if the US version of Mezcal Head had included this song, it would be hands down the greatest album ever to me. However, as usual, the Japanese are the lucky ones that got it as an LP track and not just some obscure track that you have to track down on the Duel CDS/12″, like the rest of us. Despite that, this song just gets better as it goes on. Near the end of the song where it is solely in instrumental mode, the guitars seem to just keep getting louder and pounding until the it eventually comes to a halt. Such a good song, that I just can’t understand why sometimes these types of songs are left in the dust while other rarities are saved from total obscurity.
Swervedriver – Year of the Girl [MP3]
Do yourself a favor and download both of these songs and then go buy Mezcal Head used off Amazon or wherever else you possibly can…
Buy Swervedriver – Mezcal Head
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August 5th, 2009 at 12:21 am
I'm a huge shoegazer fan, and besides the tune "Rave Down" which I've known for years, I really never apprciated Swervedriver. Well, MEZCAL HEAD is definately a killer album, as are the other 3. For some reason they just sound better to me now than they did back in my college DJ days.
March 2nd, 2010 at 5:09 pm
I first saw Swervedriver in 1991 in Chapel Hill, NC at the Cat’s Cradle. They opened for Poster Children. Needless to say, I was blown away. They were supporting their album “Raise,” which I would argue is better than Mezcal (personal preference). Both, to me, are stellar albums, and definitely overlooked.
So my first experience hearing them, was actually seeing them live. I picked up the single for “Son of a Mustang Ford.” Probably my favorite Swervedriver song is the B side of that single, “Laze it up.” Almost 20 years later, I can still see and hear it live. Just great!
I also saw them in supporting Smashing Pumpkins, which they blew off the stage, as well as their headlining tour in 1993 in support of Mezcal Head, again, at the Cat’s Cradle in Chapel Hill. I remember they opened with “Sandblasted.” Blew the walls down! And I saw them on their last (before breaking up the first time) tour in 1998. Good show, but by then, they had been so incredibly butchered by their labels, and were not at all promoted (other than poorly), the crowd was smaller, and you could tell they were pretty much over it.
I’m glad to see they’re touring again. I really hope they produce some new material and start touring again. My dream show is Swervedriver opening up for Dinosaur Jr. It still may come true!