Mezcal Head

Mezcal Head is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Swervedriver. It was released on 27 September 1993 by Creation Records in the United Kingdom and on 5 October 1993 by A&M Records in the United States.^[4][5]

Mezcal Head
Studio album by Swervedriver
Released	27 September 1993 (1993-09-27)
Studio	Trident 2 Famous Castle First Protocol Splatterhouse Broadwater Farm
Genre	Alternative rock[1] shoegaze[2] grunge[3]
Length	48:58
Label	Creation
Producer	Alan Moulder Swervedriver
Swervedriver chronology
Raise (1991) Mezcal Head (1993) Ejector Seat Reservation (1995)

Background and release

In 1993, Swervedriver re-emerged with the core of Adam Franklin and Jimmy Hartridge, along with newly recruited drummer Jez Hindmarsh (a.k.a. "Jez"), and released Mezcal Head. The album gave them their most successful UK single at number 60, "Duel",^[6] which NME named its "single of the week" and for which a music video was released. Franklin and Hartridge both perform bass on the album, as they were left without a bassist when Adi Vines departed before recording began.

"Never Lose That Feeling", from the 1992 EP of the same name, and the extended instrumental "Never Learn" were added as a single bonus track to the US edition of the CD. Swervedriver toured US arenas with The Smashing Pumpkins and Shudder to Think in October and November 1993.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[7]
The A.V. Club	A[8]
Blurt	8/10[9]
Entertainment Weekly	B[10]
Mojo	[11]
NME	8/10[12]
Pitchfork	8.0/10[13]
PopMatters	9/10[14]
Q	[15]
Spectrum Culture	4.5/5[16]

Alternative Press ranked Mezcal Head at numbers 39 and 90 on its "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s" and "Top 99 of '85–'95" lists respectively.^[17][18] It was also ranked at number 265 on Spin's "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)" list.^[19] Pitchfork ranked the album at number 10 on its list of "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time" in 2016.^[2]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"For Seeking Heat"	3:48
2.	"Duel"	6:19
3.	"Blowin' Cool"	3:55
4.	"MM Abduction"	2:51
5.	"Last Train to Satansville"	6:45
6.	"Harry & Maggie (Dragging It Under)"	5:27
7.	"A Change Is Gonna Come"	4:01
8.	"Girl on a Motorbike"	4:09
9.	"Duress" (Marc Waterman)	8:03
10.	"You Find It Everywhere"	4:10

All tracks are written by Swervedriver, except where noted

US edition bonus track

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Never Lose That Feeling/Never Learn"	11:51

Japanese edition bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Planes Over the Skyline"	4:41
12.	"Year of the Girl"	5:24

2008 reissue bonus tracks

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Never Lose That Feeling/Never Learn" (mislabeled as "Never Lose That Feeling")	11:51
12.	"Planes Over the Skyline"	5:24
13.	"Hitcher"	3:27
14.	"Cars Converge on Paris"	6:31

More information

The UK CD has "Mickey" and "Dragging It Under" printed on the CD as tracks 4 and 6. The US CD has "Harry and Maggie (Dragging It Under)" printed on the CD as track 6. The US promo is identical to the official release except that it has the word "PROMOTIONAL" printed on the CD. The Japanese edition comes with a biography and lyrics.^[20]

The tracks "Duel" and "Last Train to Satansville" were featured in the Sega Saturn, Sony PlayStation and 3DO versions of the game Road Rash.

"Duel" was featured in the 1994 video game Road Rash and in the 2008 video game Burnout Paradise. "Mezcal" is censored from the song's album listing in the game due to connotations with alcoholic beverages.

Personnel

Credits for Mezcal Head adapted from liner notes.^[21]

Swervedriver Adam Franklin – vocals, guitar Jimmy Hartridge – guitar Steve George – bass Jez Hindmarsh – drums, percussion Additional musician Stewart Dace – saxophone (on "Never Lose That Feeling/Never Learn")

Production Swervedriver – production Alan Moulder – production, mixing, engineering Nick Addison – engineering Jez Hindmarsh – engineering Ronan Keating – engineering assistant Howie Weinberg – mastering Design Andy Vella – cover art

Charts

Chart (1993)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)[22]	55

References

1. "91 Essential Alternative Rock Albums of the '90s". Treble. 20 September 2023.
2. "The 50 Best Shoegaze Albums of All Time". Pitchfork. 24 October 2016. p. 5. Retrieved 13 December 2016.
3. "Swervedriver: How we made Mezcal Head". 4 April 2018.
4. Mezcal Head (press advertisement). Creation Records. 1993. Archived from the original on 28 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
5. Heim, Chris (1 October 1993). "Pipeline". Chicago Tribune.
6. "SCREWDRIVER [sic] - SINGLES". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 January 2021. Retrieved 9 January 2021.
7. Rabid, Jack. "Mezcal Head – Swervedriver". AllMusic. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
8. Modell, Josh (10 February 2009). "Swervedriver: Raise / Mezcal Head". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
9. Judge, Stephen (30 March 2009). "Swervedriver – Raise + Mezcal Head [reissues]". Blurt. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
10. "Swervedriver: Mezcal Head". Entertainment Weekly. 29 October 1993. p. 74.
11. "Swervedriver: Mezcal Head". Mojo. p. 119. [T]his Oxford quartet mixed post-Sonic Youth tuff gnarl with metal-Morricone menace, pachydermal Crazy Horse grooves and acres of billowing low-end.
12. "Swervedriver: Mezcal Head". NME. 25 September 1993. p. 36.
13. Tangari, Joe (2 April 2009). "Swervedriver: Raise / Mezcal Head". Pitchfork. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
14. Bergstrom, John (5 February 2009). "Swervedriver: Raise / Mezcal Head". PopMatters. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
15. "Swervedriver: Mezcal Head". Q. No. 86. November 1993. p. 137.
16. Spadea, Jory (26 January 2009). "Swervedriver: Raise / Mezcal Head". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
17. "Top 99 of '85–'95". Alternative Press. No. 84. July 1995. p. 104.
18. "The 90 Greatest Albums of the 90's". Alternative Press. No. 125. December 1998.
19. Unterberger, Andrew (11 May 2015). "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014) — 265. Swervedriver, Mezcal Head (A&M, 1993)". Spin. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
20. Swervedriver Discography Archived 2007-12-15 at the Wayback Machine
21. Mezcal Head (liner notes). Swervedriver. Creation Records. 1993. CRECD 143.{{cite AV media}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
22. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 June 2020.

External links

• Mezcal Head at YouTube (streamed copy where licensed)