Don't Think About Swervedriver's Legacy

When revered UK outfit Swervedriver reformed in 2008 after an eight-year layoff, both the band and their many fans revelled in the return of their dreamy brand of shoegaze, swirling guitar music hardened by rock sensibilities and dense imagery that remained as fresh and accessible as ever.

Yet after a handful of years touring the music from the four albums they recorded during their initial '90s tenure — including a 2013 Australian tour playing killer 1991 debut Raise in its entirety — it became clear that new music was required to sustain the resurrection.

"You listen to some of the old tracks and they sound more stately than the way we play them live now somehow anyway."

After testing the waters in 2013 with return single Deep Wound on Brisbane indie Tym Records, Swervedriver reconvened in the studio in early 2014 (firstly in Melbourne and then back in London) and last year re-emerged with their fifth album I Wasn't Born To Lose You, a gorgeously restrained collection which balanced slightly updating the band's aesthetic with remaining true to their signature sound.

"I think we've been back together for some time and we hadn't even considered writing any new material for a lot of that period," reflects frontman and songwriter Adam Franklin. "Then we got asked to do those Raise shows so you're then playing the whole old album, so we just decided that it would be good to have some new stuff, some new material. It's a bit of a shot in the arm really.

"[In terms of direction] I think you as much as you can try and have an overview you just have to see where it goes really. I think loosely we sort of wanted something that reflected all sides of the band somehow, and I think we achieved that: there's the heavier, grungier side of things and the more textural side as well. You can only go with what material you have, but we're very happy with it."

Franklin explains that the band tried ignoring the spectre of the band's past, although it wasn't always easy.

"We couldn't sort of jump off and do a record that sounded completely unlike Swervedriver, but at the same time the band just has its natural sound anyway," he offers. "The biggest fear would be doing something that ruins the legacy, but at the same time I don't think you can really think of it in terms of a legacy, if you know what I mean?  It's a weird thing really — you can't really think about it too much, it has to be a natural thing.

"I've seen reviews that have said 'For Swervedriver it's a lot mellower' and stuff, and it's like, 'Is it?' I dunno. You can't really sit around thinking about your sound. I don't really ever listen to [1993 album] Mezcal Head or something, I'm sure if I listened to it I'd find it was different to how I recall. It's weird actually because a lot of the old songs we play with more gusto and faster [these days], you listen to some of the old tracks and they sound more stately than the way we play them live now somehow anyway."