Adam Franklin & Bolts of Melody

As the force behind early '90s UK shoegaze outfit Swervedriver, Adam Franklin produced a couple of superlative albums: Raise and 1993's Mezcal Head. Latter day Swervedriver and subsequent solo efforts kept the pilot light lit, but finally on I Could Sleep for a Thousand Years, Franklin has fanned those flames to their former glory. One key is long-time bandmate (and former sianSPHERIC member) Locksley Taylor, who is ever adept at creating both heat haze washes of guitar and blistering hooks that interlock with Franklin's trademark rhythmic swoops. The first two tracks fill the nostalgic requirements with glittering layers of guitar pushed by a bass pulse that occasionally opens trapdoors under the melody. It's on tracks like "Guernica" and "The Road is Long" where mid-tempo variations on those vintage themes prove that Franklin isn't just looking back over his shoulder or at a comfortable old pair of shoes.