Mezcal Head (Remastered & Expanded) [Digipak]

Entertainment Weekly - "...Swervedriver has a special element so many groups cruising the same territory [as shoe-gazer bands] lack: an identity..." - Rating: B Musician - "...where other bands treat instrumental clangor strictly in terms of compositional color, Swervedriver understands the visceral excitement of noise--the ways crunch and distortion imply energy and momentum..." NME - (8) - Excellent - "...[MEZCAL HEAD] is a sufficiently grand step ahead of [Swervedriver's] previous offerings...[it's] a thing of sheer refined trad rock beauty..." Spin - Highly Recommended - "...Swervedriver unleashes cascade after drenching cascade of crystal-shatter guitar...it's healing, holy, baptismal stuff..." Alternative Press - Ranked #90 in AP's list of the `Top 99 of '85-'95' - "...MEZCAL HEAD has a great feel; Swervedriver know when to relax, when to stay down, and when to turn manic....features some of the most inspired and melodic guitar playing this side of J Mascisville [and] filters vocals straight out of a Lord Chesterfield advertisement..." Q - 3 Stars - Good - "...Think tumbleweed, torn jeans, and the worm in the bottle..." Magnet - "Dark and often beautifully dissonant, Swervedriver's mix of melodic space pop and mind-scrambling noise held appeal for two distinct audiences..." Mojo - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his Oxford quartet mixed post-Sonic Youth tuff gnarl with metal-Morricone menace, pachydermal Crazy Horse grooves and acres of billowing low-end." Pitchfork - "Just as every movement has overlooked artists, every movement has lost classics, and MEZCAL HEAD really is the lost classic of the shoegaze movement, visceral but tuneful, and perhaps the nearest simulation of a rocket launch recorded in the 90s." Spin (11/93, p.136) - Highly Recommended - "...Swervedriver unleashes cascade after drenching cascade of crystal-shatter guitar...it's healing, holy, baptismal stuff..." Entertainment Weekly (10/29/93, p.74) - "...Swervedriver has a special element so many groups cruising the same territory [as shoe-gazer bands] lack: an identity..." - Rating: B Q (11/93, p.137) - 3 Stars - Good - "...Think tumbleweed, torn jeans, and the worm in the bottle..." Alternative Press (7/95, p.104) - Ranked #90 in AP's list of the `Top 99 of '85-'95' - "...MEZCAL HEAD has a great feel; Swervedriver know when to relax, when to stay down, and when to turn manic....features some of the most inspired and melodic guitar playing this side of J Mascisville [and] filters vocals straight out of a Lord Chesterfield advertisement..." Magnet (p.68) - "Dark and often beautifully dissonant, Swervedriver's mix of melodic space pop and mind-scrambling noise held appeal for two distinct audiences..." Musician (12/93, p.90) - "...where other bands treat instrumental clangor strictly in terms of compositional color, Swervedriver understands the visceral excitement of noise--the ways crunch and distortion imply energy and momentum..." Mojo (Publisher) (p.119) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[T]his Oxford quartet mixed post-Sonic Youth tuff gnarl with metal-Morricone menace, pachydermal Crazy Horse grooves and acres of billowing low-end." NME (Magazine) (9/25/93, p.36) - (8) - Excellent - "...[MEZCAL HEAD] is a sufficiently grand step ahead of [Swervedriver's] previous offerings...[it's] a thing of sheer refined trad rock beauty..." Pitchfork (Website) - "Just as every movement has overlooked artists, every movement has lost classics, and MEZCAL HEAD really is the lost classic of the shoegaze movement, visceral but tuneful, and perhaps the nearest simulation of a rocket launch recorded in the 90s."

Generally considered to be Swervedriver's masterpiece, 1993's MEZCAL HEAD finds the British shoegazer act in fighting form, proving that not all acts associated with the style were more concerned with mood than muscle. In fact, it's no surprise that frontman Adam Franklin and the lads were sent on tour with bands such as Soundgarden and Smashing Pumpkins around the time of this album's release, since Swervedriver could dish out guitar-fueled rock with the best of them, as evinced on the hard-charging "Duel" and the fiery "Blowin' Cool." Though the ensemble never broke through to wider recognition, Swervedriver is well represented by MEZCAL HEAD, an underrated early `90s alt-rock classic.|