Adam Franklin & Bolts of Melody

As a guitarist and frontman for Swervedriver, Adam Franklin helped to write electrifying and expansive rock songs that went further than — and rocked a lot harder than — the "shoegaze" label they received from many fans and critics. Even after the alternative-rock backlash of the mid-'90s, Swervedriver continued to evolve its songwriting, and Franklin developed other projects, including Toshack Highway and his current band, Bolts of Melody. What Bolts of Melody lacks in pure volume, it more than makes up for in emotional nuance and textural atmospherics. Franklin didn't mellow with age so much as become more focused in his use of sound, dynamics and mood.