Originally a solo project of guitarist/ songwriter Jon McKellan, Glasgow's DRIVERDOWN have mutated into a full-blown band with vocalist Kelly Robertson, drummer Omar Khan and McKellan's bassist brother Graeme joining him for their debut album "Getting It Out The Way."
The band have been building a fearsome live reputation north of the border and garnered considerable underground press en route to signing to Glaswegian label Dicelines. Even minimal exposure to "Getting It All Out The Way" ably demonstrates why.
Driverdown's sound is a masterful blend of cold, clinical modern technology and broiling, guitar-driven rock with enough curveballs being thrown to keep it fresh, though it must be said at times their spiritual home seems closer to Bristol than Glasgow. Indeed, after an attractive orchestral flourish ushers us in, opening track "Drown Them All Out" soon gets all broody and Portishead-y on us, with trip-hop beats and McKellan and Robertson swapping lines and creating classy mood music. However, the faux-Russian piano break midstream and McKellan's fuzzboxed guitar are neat touches and effectively keep us guessing.
The Bristolian vibe resurfaces again on "Internal" (where the drum loops, smoky call'n'response vocals, subterranean bassline and skewed, Eastern-style keyboard/ guitar motif vividly recall Massive Attack) and the closing "Everything I Had To Lose". However, these are also both fine set-pieces in their own right and the claustrophobic, resentful feel of the latter is very much its' own creation, with the droning backdrop as reminiscent of Iggy Pop's "Mass Production" as anything the West Country set have come up with.
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Besides, there's plenty more going on in Driverdown's world. "Left Me Cold", for instance, kicks in with the kind of riffing The D4 or Datsuns would maim for, while on "Switch", Kelly comes on like a feisty young Chrissie Hynde and the song ultimately swerves into an electro-werk reprise which is both seamless and unexpected.
Indeed, Driverdown seem keen to batter at the style barriers throughout and the results virtually always impress. "Low Frequency Enclosure", for example harbours shades of Radiohead or later-period Depeche Mode and is the perfect vehicle for the haunting tale of love crossing the thin line with hate and builds to a crescendo Muse would be proud of. At a separate tangent there's "Two Four Ten" where the Coldplay-esque piano ripples lead into a windswept ballad of real quality and maturity.
Driverdown have lots of potential. The songs that make up "Getting It Out The Way" speak impressively of emotional and physical skullduggery and are presented in a way that combines the digital and analogue elements of their music to near-perfection. In places they are marginally in thrall to their heroes, but that doesn't stop this debut packing a compelling punch. I'd be surprised if we don't hear a lot more of this lot.
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