Review: Swervedriver @ The Metro on September 27th 2013

The early ‘90s at Creation Records appears as one of those magical vortexes in music folklore. With concurrent releases from groups like Ride, My Bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, and Slowdive, it’s not surprising that some very fine acts competing for space on such a roster were bound to be relegated into relative obscurity.

Nonetheless, a full room greeted shoegazing pioneers and self-described ‘loud British band’ Swervedriver at Sydney’s Metro Theatre. Released on Creation in 1991, Raise was the first studio album by ‘the Swervies’, and on this tour was to be performed live for the first time in its entirety.

There was no need to guess the set list early on, the group got straight to work with “Sci-Flyer” and “Pile-Up”, though really seemed to open up once they hit “Son Of Mustang Ford”. It was at this point it became sadly apparent that this show was to suffer an all-too-familiar pestilence on the Sydney live scene currently , the plague of a horrible sound mix.

In any case, the big swirling sounds of tracks like “Ravedown” and “Sunset” were a stand-out, and as the set hit its mid-point the group added a nice touch as they played through the live instrumental interlude that precedes “Sandblasted”, keeping true to the form of an album show.

The bright jangle of front man Adam Franklin’s Jazzmaster was offset nicely by the thicker heavy tones of Jimmy Hartridge’s signature Les Paul crunch, and the crowd was reminded just why this group has remained so important and relevant over the past decades.

Though the quality of sound in the room was dull and muddy (important to note this was an issue owing to the venue, and not the band); the wide range of blended influences ingrained in the soul of the swervies began to emerge and extract itself from beneath the layers of guitar noise.

While there are elements of MC5 and Stooges-eque clashing sounds, the slack hands of Dinosaur Jr, the ferocious noise of Sonic Youth; there’s nothing in Swervedriver’s sound that could truly be described as derivative.

“Lead Me Where You Dare…” was given a rare live airing, and was very much appreciated by the faithful, who erupted in rapture as the encore opened with “Last Train To Satansville” heralding in the heights of the Mezcal Head era. “Cars Converge On Paris” and “Never Lose That Feeling” had the crowd simmering with delight, relishing the interplay between Franklin and Hartridge.

“Duel” was arguably the closest Swervedriver ever came to a ‘hit song’, released during one of the band’s most turbulent periods, and even today it truly stands out as one of the greatest guitar tunes of the ‘90s.

“The Birds” is song from the very fine (though very low selling) Ejector Seat Reservation, a short slice of pop providing a nice change of tone with its surprising inclusion in the set, and was delivered along with a few B-sides and some newer material (“Deep Wound” was the first new material released in 14 years only a year or two ago) to round off the evening.

There are very few bands who write songs and guitar parts the way Swervedriver can and continue to do. If not only for this reason, Swervedriver will continue to endure as a band whose place and influence, though frequently overlooked, will never be forgotten.