Topping your previous successful work can be tough to do as a musician. Expectations, creative-block, pressure, etc. can tear you down and prolong creativity, digging your legacy down a hole that’s hard to climb out of. Sometimes, for special bands, they power through the adversity and create something so meaningful, anthemic, and powerful.
For the Boston, Massachusetts band Driveways, they proved to conquer their previous successful albums with their latest album October Forever.
Starting off, the album name does this record justice. Starting with the darkness that’s riddled in every track, embedding everything hardcore October lovers feel when they bring out their seasonal records.
For myself, I have a few albums I put on repeat every Autumn. From Box Car Racer to Plus-44, It’s become ritual. Let me say this with no bias, this album is certainly a new-fall classic for myself.
The debut single, “Are You Afraid Of The Dark” is a fast-paced, hardcore punk rock track that brings skeletons out of their graves to mosh with their fellow dead friends. In what seems to be a track about surviving the dark months and denying anxiety, depression, and dark thoughts from taking you to your grave. In a time where seasonal depression can take its hold on many people, this track takes positivity in terms of aggression, hardcore lyrics, and amazing background synths that boost the drum-track.
Seriously, you cannot beat this debut track.
The second single, “Fifteen Over Five”, is another fast-paced single that’ll get your heart pumping faster than normal, but that’s a custom when listening to Driveways. This track does a phenomenal job of speeding up and slowing down at the right times. The verses are calm, lyrically collective, and bring you on this ride of emotions. As the pre-chorus comes along, you feel the acceleration begin to climb, which leads perfectly into the heart-racing, 100 mph drag-race that will make you head-bang uncontrollably. Not to mention, the final 30 seconds of the track is so hardcore with its screaming lyrics that you’ll be playing this track over-and-over again until your ears ring.
The final single on this record, “Leaves on Parade” is certainly the more sophisticated. Seemingly the ballad track of the album, it creates a perfect identity to this album. The scenic resonance this track brings is immersing as can be. With the lyrical descriptions of the leaves falling and flooding the streets, resembling death and the beauty it can bring in the Autumn colors, is a metaphor that only great song-writers can create.
Outside of the singles, this album is incredibly versatile. All of the tracks on this record are circled around the topic of seasonal depression and the anxiety we can all feel during the changing seasons. However, from song-creation, lyrical capabilities, catchy-songwriting, and progression, it’s unbeatable in 2020.
Tracks such as “Contours”, “Hallowed”, “Sleep Paralysis”, and “October Forever”, are such key progressive tracks for this band. The use of synths, diverse song-creation and depth. While maintaining their signature sound, they pushed the envelope and brought a fresh, yet intriguing set of tracks you’ll close your eyes and literally feel.
The slower, anthemic tracks such as, “Cemetery Gates” and “Contradictions”, really do show the true colors of Driveways capabilities into writing catchy, soft, and deep songs. The capsule that these two tracks create embed this band into the foundation that built them. Truly, strong emotional songs.
Overall, this has to be one of the best albums I’ve heard this year. Compared to Machine Gun Kelly’s Tickets To My Downfall and Girlfriends self-titled record, this comes at an easy number one.
October Forever isn’t just a band creating music for their friends or fun-times. It’s true, meaningful, anthemic music that sets-the tone for season inspired albums. Just like you’d play Bing Cosby around Christmas time, after listening to this record you’ll be playing it on repeat every October for years to come.
It’s tough for bands to create instant classics, but Driveways has done the best job they could when it came to writing October Forever. This is an easy listen, but get ready to rid some skeletons from your closet after just one listen all the way through. You’ll want to tackle any issues you have as soon as the final chord rings out on the title track.
So, go ahead and download this record. Support Driveways on their bandcamp here, and jump on the bandwagon like we have here at AllPunkedUp. You will NOT regret it.
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