Swervedriver – Doremi Faso Latido (Outer Battery)

The 13th Floor’s Jeff Neems finds himself, somewhat unintentionally, revisiting 90s-era Swervedriver.

Don’t be fooled; this is not a new Swervedriver album. I honestly thought the British alternative rock outfit had banged out another post-reunion album, their third since 2015.

I should probably have paid more attention, since other than the very occasional listens to the Rave Down (1990) and Raise (1999) I’ve… well…not really given them a lot of thought.

Formed in Oxford in the late 1980s, Swervedriver essentially offered an English version of the college alt-rock niche carved by a group of American bands including Sonic Youth, Pavement, my faves, Dinosaur Jr, and the Flaming Lips. It’s a sound generally edgy enough to avoid commercial radio and still be melodic enough to attract some of those people who listen to those stations.

Numerous band lineups have revolved around the core of Adam Franklin (vocals, guitar) and Jimmy Hartridge (guitar), who put the band into hiatus in 1999 before reprising it in the early 2010s.

Doremi Faso Latido is in fact a selection of b-sides, demos, and out-takes which previously featured on a CD-only reissue of their allegedly “lost” album, 99th Dream (1998, originally). This release is accompanied by a press statement pointing out the music is released on vinyl for the first time. Ah, I get it now. Keeping up?

Coincidentally, to bring you back to my earlier point, I haven’t heard these songs- so, to be fair, they’re quite good. It doesn’t get boring. In fact it’s pleasantly diverse; there’s wafty and simple Carousel City (reminiscent of Galaxie 500) and more raucous ear-benders like Sea Foam (musical structure very similar to J, Lou and Murph). At times Franklin effects an almost Elvis Costello-esque slow drawl which, rather surprisingly, he pulls off. The title track even flirts with a radio-friendly subtle electronic pop ditty, albeit in a rock and roll suit, and there are others which would fit into a Pixies record.

For total clarity, this is late 1990s music, so by the time the band recorded this my music tastes had considerably diversified and rock’n’roll was well and truly on my backburner.

Final thoughts? Generally, Swervedriver was still doing good authentic alt-rock into the late 90s and even as a kind of “reserves grade team” of their catalog it goes all right. I remembered why I liked Swervedriver, and why I thrashed their Rave Down and Raise records in my angry late teens while living in a bunker-like concrete room I rented from my parents.

For me, this doesn’t merit the expense of vinyl – that format of this set is probably really only for completists or newbies – but it definitely merits a listen if you dug this style of music from this era.

Artist: Swervedriver
Album: Doremi Faso Latido
Record Label: Outer Battery Records
Formats: Vinyl
Release Date: 30/08/2024  Pre-order here