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RECORDS REVISITED: SWERVEDRIVER - MEZCAL HEAD (1993)

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Swervedriver were a band often overlooked when it came to the alt rock/shoegaze genre. My Bloody Valentine  tended to be the main focus of attention back then, and even today for that matter. However Swervedriver molded the shoegaze sound with rock structures. Often hooky, but yet still they would swell off into a tangent of noise and chaos.

This album was the second full length from, and was released in 1993. This year marks the 20th anniversary of this record. There is no doubt in my mind that it still holds up, and if anything it is better with age. Although I can't really talk as if I a fan when this album was originally released . 20 years ago would put me at 4 years old when this album came out. As cool of a 4 year old as I was driving around in a red power wheels jeep, I wasn't quite cool enough to be into British shoegaze by that point yet.

BUY | STREAM
I have put this record on in the van everytime I do an overnight drive, and someone always wakes up from a half drunken slumber studdering the words “who is this?”. Every time I show this record to someone they always end up loving it. For some reason I find accomplishment in that. Why is that? It’s not like its my fucking band. I can barely get any of my friends to listen any of my bands. Regardless this is one of those records you share with people, because in most circumstances not a lot of people have heard it or given it a chance.

This entire record is very textural. One of my favorite moments is in the pre chorus of Duel when a loud feed backing guitar sirens, blistering in tremolo and panning individually into both speakers. Listen to this track in headphones and when it gets to that part you will hear it starting from the left side, and then at the next measure from the right. Like dueling guitar noise, get it? That isn’t the only textural part on the record, there are plenty more but you reading about it isn’t going to get the point across any better than if you were just sitting back and listening to this record. I even included the album stream below from spotify, so if you don’t listen to it now than you are really fucking up. I could talk about this all day. The truth is this album is a classic, and stands the test of time as cliche as that sounds.

But before I finish, if there are any readers out there that have a copy(s) of this on vinyl and are willing to donate it to the private CROSSED WIRES Vinyl Museum, please get in touch via email at patrickolynbenson@gmail.com (just lookup the prices of this album on eBay they're absurd, maybe more people like this band than I thought).

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