Swervedriver

With a sound forged in the crucible of glam and psychedelia (with some Stooges thrown in for good measure), and then hammered on the anvil of grunge and indie rock, England’s Swervedriver emerged in the early ’90s as one of the leading lights of shoegaze. The band released a handful of albums, and a lot more EPs and singles, before calling it quits in 1998. None of their records made much of a dent on the charts, but the group's influence over the years has steadily grown. Frontman Adam Franklin had been pursuing solo and side projects for nearly a decade when Swervedriver’s first three albums were reissued in 2008, spiking renewed interest in the group, which led to successful reunion tours in 2008 and last year. The band is currently working on their first album of new material in 14 years, tentatively scheduled for release sometime in 2012. You can hear some of the new songs on the band's latest tour, which stops by the Grog Shop this week. – Brian Baker