Friday SOS Record Reviews
SWMRS
Drive North (Uncool)
By Alejandra Ramirez, Fri., Nov. 4, 2016
SWMRS is no accident. After two straight-shot punk albums as Emily's Army, the rebranded Oakland quartet debuts as SWMRS on Drive North, produced by Fidlar frontman Zac Carper and counting Billie Joe Armstrong's son Joey on drums. Fusing Japandroids' ferocity and Black Flag's cacophony, the band gamely sticks to genre basics: wheelbarrow bass ("Uncool"), youthful abandonment ("Harry Dean"), and distortion ("BRB"). Drive North speeds with enough teenage angst and raw vigor to coalesce into an onslaught of gleefully twisted mayhem. (Fri., 4:05pm, Forest stage)