Album: Raise
Year: 1991
. . .
Swervedriver were associated enough with the whole shoegaze movement that their debut album Raise landed at #15 on Pitchfork’s 2016 list of the 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time, and you can definitely hear why.
That said, there is a bit more dust, grit and momentum on Raise than there was on the records of most of their contemporaries, as many of the songs barreled forward with the power and noise of, say, Daydream Nation.
And nowhere was their more noisy momentum than on “Son of Mustang Ford,” which is exactly what is seems to be: a song about driving around in a Mustang Ford. Which I know from personal experience is kinda fun.
Yeah Mustang take me
Mustang Ford take me far away
Been driving for days now
Been driving to take the pain away
Gotta get some love now
Love back in my veins, gotta kill this pain
But of course you’re not listening to “Son of Mustang Ford” for singer/guitarist Adam Franklin’s lyrics or even his intense vocals, you’re listening because of the insane noise Frankin and Jimmy Hartridge are kicking out on their guitars: alternating swooping leads, grungy riffs and crazed noise while bassist Adi Vines and drummer Graham Bonnar continually turn into all of the skids, so the song never quite crashes into the side of the mountain.
But only just barely, which is part of both the fun and thrill of “Son of Mustang Ford,” which gets more and more intense as it goes on — especially the first instrumental section, announced simply by Franklin saying “driiiiive” — but still seems to end without completely falling apart or crashing into itself.
“Son of Mustang Ford”
“Son of Mustang Ford” Original Music Video
“Son of Mustang Ford” live in Sydney, 2011
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