Swervedriver

While listeners waited for the fourth LP from Oxford, England, mashers Swervedriver, out came this smart teaser, the first release by the group since their (sadly, import only) Ejector Seat Reservation two years before. "Why Say Yeah" picks up exactly where they were, as if they'd hired one of those movie set "continuity" people, which is just fiiiiinnne! Who else emits such dense blasts of hissing, inchoate guitar, and yet makes it all so pleasant? Who but Adam Franklin could take such a dirty voice and make it soar to the ionosphere, requiring a mass singalong on "Why say yeah/When you don't really mean it?" If this isn't a classic Swervie slice, then nothing is. "In My Time" (recorded four-track) eschews the grinding, motorcycle-rev sound for a bare-bones backing, leaving a Dylan/Byrds-like melody to hold sway. As for Sophia, the band that runs the Flower Shop label (which issued the rare and terrific 1994 Swervedriver 7", My Zephyr), "So Slow" is methodical, ringing, picayune pop that lives up to its title. Franklin helped out on the recording of "Sometimes," a more interesting acoustic tune. ~ Jack Rabid, All Music Guide