FAILURE & SWERVEDRIVER
@ VENUE, VANCOUVER
APRIL 18, 2019
Vancouverβs Venue was host tonight to a double-headlining bill featuring Failure and Swervedriver. Notable β90s legends within their own sub-genres, both bands laid out sets of sharp, extremely well-executed, spaced-out rock βnβ roll.
Swervedriver is an English four-piece alternative band whose styles have subtly shifted through textural styles that have always retained especially crisp, charged guitar tones. Formed in the mid β80s in Oxford, England, from which also originated Ride and Radiohead, the unique sonic flow of their swirling guitars immediately established their influence on subsequent generations of rock artists. Playing a thick set featuring cuts from their brand-new album Future Ruins, Swervedriver performed song after song with dedication and professionalism. Their chunky, slow, dreamy guitar styles range from high grade shoe gaze to a more aggressive and hungry grunge rock style on songs such as βSandblasted.β Other numbers were charming and concise, such as the rolling, sweetly vocal βMary Winterβ or hypnotizing circular guitar melody on βthe Lonely Crowd Fades in the Air.β Playing a full and satisfying set, Swervedriver delivered βDuelβ which made for a most passionate and energetic closing number.
PURCHASE SWERVEDRIVER’S FUTURE RUINS
Performing songs new and old, Failure appeared during one of their instrumental segues, before launching into βDistorted Fieldsβ from 2018βs In the Future Your Body Will Be The Furthest Thing From Your Mind. Mildly jarring, yet colorful and accessible, the music of Failure retains most of the bandβs signature hard-hitting tones and moody daydreaming aesthetic. On their post-reunion work, Failureβs use of modern equipment and tones was more evident than Swervedriverβs seemingly pure analogue tones. βHeavy and Blind,β another cut from In The Future, sounds as if it were a long forgotten A-side from the Magnified era, with signature cryptic guitars and lyrics. Vocalist/guitarist Ken Andrews introduced the next segment of the performance by welcoming the audience to βFantastic Planetβ before launching into a mini four-song set. Fantastic Planet, though far from the bandβs only quality output is their most outstanding effort; βAnother Space Songβ, βSmoking Umbrellasβ, βPillowheadβ, and the bandβs one charting single, βStuck on Youβ, were clear, faithful renditions of the album versions. Deep cuts βUndoneβ and βFrogsβ from Magnified were unexpected treats. Another four or five songs rounded out Failureβs main set, mostly consisting of similarly themed newer songs before ending with the monstrously crushing bass and skyrocketing guitar of βHeliotropic.β
Returning for a quick, two-song encore, Ken Andrews shared that the band had played material from all of their releases throughout the evening except for their Steve Albini-produced debut Comfort. The sheer texturally brutality of Greg Edwardsβ and Ken Andrewsβs guitar and bass on βMacqueβ was anchored by the calm, cool vocal delivery. Failure ended their set with a meaty 6-minute version of βScreen Man,β with wonderfully harsh and tantalizing guitar and mountainous bass. Hopefully the band will perform more of early era work in the near future; Failure showed no signs of surrender.
(Photography by David Lacroix)
Photos
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Swervedriver Links
