Before Swervedriver reformed in the late ’00s, frontman Adam Franklin made music as a solo artist. The title of his first solo album, 2007’s Bolts of Melody, became the name of his backing band. Ten years since his last record, Bolts of Melody are back as a proper band (no “Adam Franklin & Bolts of Melody” this time) and will release a new album, Film Noir, on January 19 via Outer Battery Records.
Bolts of Melody in 2023 consist of Franklin and longtime collaborators Mikey Jones (who also drums in Swervedriver), Locksley Taylor (guitars, keyboards), and Josh Stoddard (bass), and Film Noir also features contributions from J. Mascis and The Besnard Lakes. “This new record was loosely conceived by Taylor as an instrumental album,” says Franklin. “Like a soundtrack hence the ‘film’ part of the title. Each song was given license to roam. Some were quite literally composed as library music before being rescued from life in an elevator when it was realised that they contained some semblance of heart and soul.”
The album’s film score origins are apparent in the cinematic first single, “555,” and you can listen to that below.
In other news, Outer Battery Records is reissuing Swervedriver’s 1998 album 99th Dream, which was the last of the band’s original run. This will be its first vinyl pressing since 1998, and it’ll be out as a double-LP set featuring new artwork and three new remixes by Alan Moulder, who worked on the original album. There’s also a three-CD set featuring a 1998 Live in NYC recording and a disc’s worth of outtakes and demos. That’s out January 19 as well and you can preorder it here. Check out the new artwork, a trailer for the reissue and listen to the original album below.
