I’ve been trying to learn to play a few selections from Swervedriver’s back catalog lately and have really come to appreciate how unconventional Adam Franklin’s playing and writing style is. His musical brain is an interesting place to be, and I’ve been living in it and the Swervedriver oeuvre a fair bit of late.
So this Noisey article from 2015 wherein he was given the task of ranking all the band’s albums to that point is interesting, as it goes against the usual orthodoxy. Unsurprisingly, 99th Dream brings up the rear; not much debate there, though I do feel like I should revisit it, I’m not sure I’ve listened to it in… 24 years or so. His placing Mezcal Head at second-last is just bewildering as a fan, but as his feelings about the records seem to be tied in with the turmoil around making them, hearing him recount the stories, it makes some sense.
I don’t think Ejector Seat Reservation will ever rate above “okay” with me – I’ve tried – but Raise as the best of the pre-hiatus records? I won’t argue that, though I’d have put it under Mezcal Head. And putting I Wasn’t Born To Lose You as their best? I mean, the interview was part of the promo cycle for the comeback record, but it’s also a really strong record. I wonder where he’d place 2018’s Future Ruins in the list?
