Sunset Drive - We've Got To Talk EP
When I first listened to Sunset Drive, I was convinced they were yet another generic British indie band, yet the reality is far from it. Hailing from Japan and New Zealand, Sunset Drive is very much an international production. The 'We've Got to Talk' EP is the first release from this trio in their attempt to crack onto the British music scene.
The five tracks on this EP are straight up, with no-nonsense lyrics. 'We've Got to Talk' is also the title of the first track on the EP; a tune about, guess what, talking. The track travels on with the typical indie guitar strums, yet never seems to reach its destination, and after repetitive choruses we find the very familiar twangy guitar solo; a popular concept within the indie rock generation. Moving onto next track, 'Carry Me', it is apparent that repetitiveness is a continuing feature of this EP. The guitar riffs are in style and definitely will stick in your mind yet nothing develops and the song is just very droning.
Okay so you could easily tap your foot along to it at a festival if there was nothing better on to see, and predictable lyrics do often lead to sing-along capability. However, there is an annoyance in the repetitiveness of the lyrics and generic four-beat guitar strums. It is almost as if Sunset Drive have tried to create a great yet typical indie band, yet failed somewhere in the process ending up sounding like a poor imitation of bands like The Strokes or The Stooges.
The EP is somewhat disappointing, especially as for such animated tunes there is some sense of a clash with vocals by lead singer Alistair Rogers seeming not dissimilar from a dreary reminder of a wet weekend; upbeat instrumentals are mismatched by such monotonous vocals.
Disappointingly, each song sounds like a carbon copy of its predecessor and to be honest I was bored by the end of the EP; and it was only five tracks long. Last song on the EP, 'Touch You' tells the story of desire yet it sounds dull with no desperation and does certainly not aid the EP in ending on a high. Don't get me wrong, these guys seem like hard workers and are musically able to produce some great tunes, yet something is just missing, the songs are too simple. Perhaps Sunset Drive will go on to be a popular band in the indie generation but only because they are predictable and producing usual monotonous classifiably 'indie' tunes; however what is lacking is a clear sense of originality and unfortunately that makes 'We've Got to Talk' and rather disappointing offering.