Swervedriver

They were quick to return after reforming in 2008, and they’ll be back again this month to play songs from last year’s I Wasn’t Born To Lose You – the band’s first record in 17 years. With a new album in pocket, the UK foursome has managed to visit a number of previously untested territories over the last 12 months.

“We played Brazil and Chile, which we’d never been to, [and] Hong Kong,” says vocalist/guitarist Adam Franklin. “We went back to Japan for the first time in 25 years or something ridiculous. Hawaii as well, which was a nice little shot in the arm at the end of the US tour.”

Released last March, I Wasn’t Born To Lose You arrived seven years after the initial reunion of Franklin, guitarist Jimmy Hartridge and bassist Steve George (with current drummer Mikey Jones entering the picture in 2011). Franklin has been pleasantly surprised by the impact of the album, especially considering his initial reluctance to add anything to the Swervedriver catalogue.

“[When we got back together] everyone was doing other things and there wasn’t really time to think about putting our minds to a Swervedriver album,” he says. “But then when we finally did and we’ve come up with this album, which we’re very proud of. We think it’s a great record, so now it seems quite strange to think that we didn’t do it earlier.”

Swervedriver’s previous LP, 99th Dream, was released at the beginning of 1998. It was their fourth album and the culmination of a decade’s work. Then, after six months on the road, the band members decided to go their separate ways. Franklin stayed visible in the ensuing years, making albums with Toshack Highway, Magnetic Morning, and Adam Franklin and Bolts Of Melody. 2005 saw the release of the Swervedriver retrospective compilation, Juggernaut Rides ’89-’98, which helped to spark the band’s enthusiasm and attract plenty of new listeners. Also, by virtue of the internet and various ‘best of the ’90s’ lists, a whole generation of younger listeners discovered Swervedriver during the hiatus.

“At our shows now there’s certainly the older people that were there back in the day, but also clearly younger kids who weren’t there the first time around,” Franklin says. “It’s great for them because they can feel that they’re part of it – they get to hear the new album the day it comes out and they get the excitement that they might’ve felt they didn’t have because they weren’t around when the first records came out.”

When making I Wasn’t Born To Lose You, Franklin was mindful of the expectations of their expanded audience base. “It was obvious that we couldn’t go off and do a completely left-field album. But on the one hand, it’s the natural sound of Swervedriver anyway, so it’s always going to sound the way it does. But I suppose we could’ve been experimenting with synthesizers or something, but [it] would’ve been ridiculous to come back with something that wasn’t the Swervedriver sound.”

The new album was recorded in the midst of the RaiseTour, which had the band performing the 1991 debut LP in its entirety. Revisiting this album encouraged Franklin to reacquaint himself with many of the band’s formative influences.

“[The debut album] was when the first excitement about formulating the ideas and even the name of the band and the artwork and the song titles – it all coalesced into this one thing. I was listening to some music that I had been listening to when we first formed and re-reading things like Love And Rockets, the comic book that used to inspire me lyrically and just generally.”

Being on tour had a direct impact on the record – half the album was recorded at Birdland Studios in Melbourne during Swervedriver’s last Australian tour, while the rest was done in London’s Konk Studios during a UK tour. “It was really because Mikey lives in New York,” Franklin explains. “It was like, ‘Since we’re going to be together, we should really make the most of the time and get in the studio.’ But the fact we had been playing live and we had been playing Raise gave a shot in the arm to the recording sessions. You’ve got that nervous energy from playing in front of an audience the night before and the night after.”

A lot has changed in the world of rock music since 1991. Raise was released via Creation Records, a cult-like UK label that was also home to The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream and My Bloody Valentine (and later Oasis). However, despite the impacts of changing technology and trends, Franklin hasn’t seen much of a shift in the fundamentals of album-making.

“People say these days that artists don’t think in terms of albums, but I think most artists probably still do,” he says. “Perhaps it’s just artists of a certain age, but you think of an album as a whole piece of art in itself.

“The week the album came out there were people tweeting things, one of which was somebody saying, ‘Hey, I’ve just discovered this new band. They’re called Swervedriver.’ And it appeared to be a teenager, and that’s great. I think [the album] definitely does stand alone and I think it’s my favourite album of the lot.”