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Driver of the
Year: Some Girls Would Say...
The real trouble with reviewing new music comes along with bands like Driver of the Year, where you cant really express the superficial strong points and failings of the band when youre so caught up in the impressions left, the sheer fun factor of it all. And thats what these kids are bringing: pure, unadulterated, completely unaffected fun. The disk rocks in strong, right away, with the opening track, The Squeeler. Immediately the listener is transported to any given Friday night, revving up to head out, drinks with the boys, driving around all night with nothing to do and lots to say. And this is the lasting impression of the band a contemplative twenty-something chill-out and analysis of the mundane, without the trappings of overdramatic clich whiny indie rock. Not that these boys herald the very aspects of life this album projects. More so with tracks like On this Stage, the lyrics echo some sort of personal inner struggle, immediately accessible in its individual perspective. Yet the almost jam, almost funk configuration, the complicated transitions from full-on to subtle, the ever-present near-screaming shrill vocals, the celebration of rock music, and the total lack of interpretation and heavily-borrowed styles remain. If nothing else, Driver of the Year produces a style all their own. Mellow. Profound. Entertaining. Thought-provoking. Original. These are the buzz words of an album which theoretically sends mixed messages, yet brilliantly brings you exactly where the band wants you to be: with them. If more albums focused exactly on the only thing any musical act can give you their own perspective then more albums like Some Girls Would Say would cross my desktop. This is not the most important album Ill hear this year. It is, however, one of the strongest albums Ill hear this year for that simple thing: its all them. Its only them. It is unabashedly fearless in its celebration of the members of the band, their lives, and their absolutely rockstar perspective on life. Perhaps the biggest compliment I can give the album is this: the music is not at all my personal favorite style. But listening to Driver of the Year makes me want to call up the band and see what theyre up to next weekend. Because these are the kind of truly appreciative people you want to share a pitcher of beer with.
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