Swervedriver – Whelan’s – 5/11/26 – Live Review
by Killian Laher

This was the first visit to Dublin by Swervedriver in at least 30 years; they arrived to commemorate 35 years since the release of their debut album Raise, which they played in full.  Swervedriver were always a slightly ‘one rung below’ type band.  Ostensibly lumped in with the shoegaze scene, their music is closer to a driving rock, almost grunge.  It’s unlikely they were ever really anyone’s favourite band of that scene, with My Bloody Valentine cornering the noisy end, Ride the poppier, more melodic end and Slowdive the spaced-out dreamy end of the genre.  Having said that, the venue was stuffed with a decidedly male-dominated crowd.

Support came from young up-and-coming Dublin band Anemoia, who conjured up great gallops of sound on the tracks like Downer.  Making a great ear-splitting boil of a noise, new song Never Enough went down well before they finished with a roared rendition of recent single Gesso.

The Twin Peaks theme introduced Swervedriver, and Adam Franklin and co powered through the Raise album in sequence, pretty flawlessly.  Franklin was never much of a singer, and his vocals haven’t really changed one way or another.  Although there was minimal crowd interaction, the audience was up for it from the very start.  The band really cut through on slower tracks like Deep Seat, where they showed an admirable grasp of dynamics.  Another highlight was a powerful version of Sandblasted, featuring monumental guitar riffing from Jimmy Hartridge, accompanied by some interesting visuals.

After playing through the album, the band took a short break before returning to play several B-sides and tracks from other albums, including Out and The Birds, each one greeted with euphoria by the audience.  More recent song For A Day Like Tomorrow was heavier live than on the recorded version, and the extended guitar workout made for a highlight on the night.  They played a shortened version of Never Lose That Feeling before finishing with the blissed-out guitar anthem Duel.

While definitely on the nostalgia circuit, the band is still very much a going concern.  For pure molten guitar riffing, these guys hit all the right notes.