Album Review: Driveway - Demo

The general quality of music that passes as a demo these days has improved considerably. Long gone are the days of having to listen to demos at maximum volume, just to make out all the instruments, these days the difference between a demo and a proper release are hard to hear. The perfect example of this modern phenomenon is Ireland’s Driveway. This five piece play a brand of early-90’s influenced emo rock, and production wise their demo is near flawless.

Counting a fairly minimal three tracks to its name, ‘Demo’ displays a lot of talent across the 12 or so minutes. The band are clearly skilled musicians as the guitar work is intricate and layered and the bass and drums work well in tandem to create an impressive atmospheric sound, which is added to by vocalist Andrew’s distinct vocals. At times he sounds like a less gruff Jimmy Stadt from Polar Bear Club, and others he sounds a little bit like Brian Molko, but weak comparisons aside, his voice is very much his own.

Opening track, ‘Etymology’ is easily recognisable for its twinkly lead guitar. It pitches itself between Sunny Day Real Estate and Biffy Clyro, making for a refreshing sound, which isn’t really being done elsewhere. A similar formula is followed for ‘Naomi Watts’, which is much faster and more frantic, but still falls in the same sonic brackets. ‘Naomi Watts’ is riddled with complex and mature lyrics, despite seemingly covering the trite issue of a relationship break down.

Closer ‘Munchausen Syndrome’ is an epic beast. It swirls in waves of full band chaos followed by minimalist guitar, building and crumbling over five plus minutes. The track even completely cuts out at one point, only to cut back in as if it had never stopped.

‘Demo’ is impressive on all fronts, musically, lyrically and in its production. It’s only noticeable flaw being that its only three tracks long. It’s been a while since a band that plays this kind of music has successfully emerged from the underground, so it will be interesting to see how far Driveway can build from this point on.

5/5

'Demo' by Driveway is available now as a free download on Bandcamp.

Dan Issitt