Critics have been very strange about this one. This is partly because, though it has the “Swervedriver sound,” it does not sound like the last one. I Wasn’t Born to Lose You was more upbeat and was mixed a lot hotter. It seemed like they pushed the levels as high they could go without the sound melting down. Next to Raise, it is the ultimate driving album. Future Ruins is still very powerful but more subdued. The levels are high but more reigned in and the subject matter is bleaker.
The opening track “Mary Winter” comes pounding in with the drums and bass eventually getting zoomed off into the stratosphere by the guitars. This is not an easy song to get out of your head. Indeed, many of the tracks stay with you for quite a while. It does, however, take several listens to truly appreciate this album. So the question remains, why is this album so hard to appreciate on the first listen?
The answer is that this is Swervedriver at it’s finest. Swervedriver has always been a very subtle band that loves to overdub and layer. The subject matter is a bit different on this one, though. Some of it is a commentary on the political times we live in without being too specific. More to the point, it is about disconnection which is mostly a modern syndrome. “Drone Lover” deals with the distance we feel from those we wage war with (“two thousand myriad nightmares/With the neighbourhood up in flames”). The less we see of the destruction and death, the less we feel of it. People become a video game and sympathies get dulled and, perhaps, even lost. “Future Ruins” is a bit more direct. With lines like “We are ruled by fools” and “That the king is insane is now old news,” it’s hard to miss the point. The album cover fits the mood of the song perfectly.
“Mary Winter” is told from the point of view of someone that has been in outer space so long that the person is trying to remember what planet Earth was like. “The Lonely Crowd Fades Into the Air” talks about how “we stumble into the end days /where the future comes back to cry.” They advise you “So choose your colours wisely/cos it ain’t like the days gone by.”
Despite the grey and dour lyrics, the guitars ring out, intoxicating the listener so that no matter how dark it gets you feel there’s some light coming somewhere. The guitars in “Theeascending” are just beautiful. It is another dreamscape song that we come to expect from Swervedriver. With guitar effects exploding everywhere like a Jackson Pollack painting overlapped with a Salvador Dali.
In my opinion, the standout track is “Spiked Flower.” It has been said that is the “most shoegaze” the album gets. About a frustrating relationship or unrequited love, take your pick. “No need to sit on the fence/ With your emotional intelligence/In a white lace dress.”
Despite the dour lyrics, the album is great and does not leave you in despair but gently and subtly pushes you saying, “What are you going to do about it?” And, yes, it is a good driving album like all the rest of theirs. Just as I Wasn’t Born to Lose You is an album to listen to while driving on a beautiful summer day, Future Ruins is great to listen to while driving at night. This album perfectly fits with their catalogue but is much more intense and subtle, making it a little harder to latch on to right away.
Happy listening!
It’s truly worth it!
Cheers!
Mary Winter https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVBsk10R_tA
Drone Lover https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMrq7UFd0_4
Theassending https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6Dc-SzuOE8
Spiked Flower https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgDmmQz2Y5M