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99th Dream
02/24/1998 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Mike Lipton
After releasing a pair of excellent discs in the early '90s (Raise and Mezcal Head) that demonstrated an uncommon acumen for balancing hypnotic curtains of guitar psychedelia with gentle, recognizable melodies, Oxford, England's Swervedriver was unceremoniously dropped from A&M's roster. Following a '95 U.K. release, Ejector Seat Reservation, 99th Dream marks the group's return to the domestic bins. The title track leads off with a classic Swervedriver mix, blending dreamy vocals and a Roger McGuinn-styled 12-string--all bathed in a soothing wash of reverbed guitars. From there, the disc follows the direction of Ejector Seat, with more traditionally structured songs and more clearly defined instruments. Both "These Times" and "Electric 77" are unusually concise and melodic--so much so that it wouldn't be a stretch for singer Adam Franklin to perform stripped-down, "Unplugged" versions. "Stellar Caprice" is an dreamy, ambitious--but tame--instrumental that would benefit from a jolt of the group's past sonic fury. There are other moments ("You've Sealed My Fate") where the tunes are merely adequate and lack the dynamic punch or narcotic drone of previous efforts. In the end, the band is at its best when precariously balancing all-enveloping avalanches of sound with Franklin's increasingly authoritative vocals.
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