Alt.rock icons Swervedriver release first new music in five years and it's predictably epic

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The World's Fair EP was partially produced by hugely popular YouTube personality and Swervedriver nut Rick Beato

Swervedriver
(Image credit: Steve Gullick)

Alt-rock icons Swervedriver have released their first new music in five years. Volume Control, which features Swervedriver's usual widescreen guitarscape alongside an appropriately epic string orchestration, comes from the upcoming EP The World's Fair, which will be released on March 7.

"We haven’t really done an EP since our days with Creation," says frontman Adam Franklin. "I have no idea why it was the done thing back then, but it was a cool way to present your music with no sort of commitment to direction.

"You could just go off on one on any song if you wanted, and that’s what we wanted to do again here. I’ve always consumed music via singles anyway and was always partial to a good B-side or three.”

The EP, which contains the band's first new material since 2019's Future Ruins album, contains four tracks, two of which were recorded with Ride frontman Mark Gardener in Oxford, and two with YouTube personality and avowed Swervedriver nut Rick Beato at his Black Dog Sound Studio in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Last month, Beato – who has 4.7 million YouTube subscribers – released a video entitled "Even Pro Musicians Can’t Figure Out This Song!" in which Franklin showed him how to play a number of Swervedriver classics including Duel, Girl On A Motorbike and Planes Over The Skyline.

The World's Fair EP will be released on orange vinyl 12", as well as a limited edition red vinyl version that comes with a postcard. The latter is only available via mail order, but both editions can be pre-ordered from Swervedriver's Bandcamp page.

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Swervedriver: The World's Fair EP tracklist

Pack Yr Vision
Volume Control
The World's Fair
Time Attacks

Swervedriver: The World's Fair EP cover art

(Image credit: Outer Battery Records)
Fraser Lewry
Fraser Lewry
Online Editor, Classic Rock

Online Editor at Louder/Classic Rock magazine since 2014. 40 years in music industry, online for 27. Also bylines for: Metal Hammer, Prog Magazine, The Word Magazine, The Guardian, The New Statesman, Saga, Music365. Former Head of Music at Xfm Radio, A&R at Fiction Records, early blogger, ex-roadie, published author. Once appeared in a Cure video dressed as a cowboy, and thinks any situation can be improved by the introduction of cats. Favourite Serbian trumpeter: Dejan Petrović.