“I hate to say my patience is running on low.”
Combining soaring pop melodies with riffy guitar hooks, Rain City Drive are back with their second album with Matt McAndrew as vocalist. It is evident from the get-go that McAndrew’s voice is a seamless fit for pop music. This fact is further accentuated by his being coached by Adam Levine of Maroon 5 fame. Pair that with Rain City Drive delving deeper into the pop side of things with their music, ( a transition starting from when they were known as Slaves) it results in a sound that popheads and post-hardcore fans alike can vibe with.
While this change in sound has been a natural progression for the band, it did take a massive leap to get to this point following Jonny Craig’s departure, marking a more headfirst dive into pop territory. History has proven that any band that Craig has left has only become better in terms of music (See: Emarosa, Dance Gavin Dance) despite Craig being a stellar vocalist and having one of the most unique voices in the scene. Rain City Drive has been no exception to the “JC phenomena”. Their first album post-Craig, To Better Days was a stellar experience, full of emotion, featuring mature songwriting and McAndrew’s voice adding the cherry on top. The risks they took paid off.
With the follow up self-titled album however, the band took few risks resulting in a more diluted sound when compared to their previous album. While the “popcore” sound strives to potentially gain them more radio plays, it comes at the cost of sounding more querulous than its predecessor. It feels like half the emotion on To Better Days has been stripped off in lieu of lyrics revolving mostly around the struggles of relationships. While it’s still more mature than their earlier material, it often feels hollow.
In contrast, the music itself is catchy and enjoyable. The hooks, the melodies, the beats in the background all create a ton of replayability even if the lyrics do come off as a bit conventional. While almost all songs have the same energetic, upbeat vibe of pop paired with riffs, there are a couple of standouts. “Psycho” being the most poppiest song on the record, it features no riffs at all, serving as a much welcome break at the middle of the album. On the other hand, “Ophelia” is the epitome this album reaches, perfectly blending the two styles into a package that provides a well-rounded idea of what the album sounds like.
While Rain City Drive does not live up to the band’s previous endeavour, it is by no means a step backward either. It is the band stepping on their own foot but just barely managing to salvage their footing. There is a lot of potential here that waiting to be unleashed and captivate should the band be comfortable taking some risks.
7/10
Rain City Drive is out this Friday via Thriller Records and you can preorder it here.