Title: Girlfriend
Artist: The Driver Era
Release Date: October 15, 2021
Rating: 4/5
After finding major success with their 2019 album X, The Driver Era recently released their newest work this past week, titled Girlfriend. The dynamic duo of ex-Disney star Ross Lynch and his brother Rocky bring their listeners a groovy, two-disk album that brings together influences of pop, r&b, and synth beats reminiscent of tunes from the 80s.
For the most part, both disks of this album have an overall cohesive style, but there are several tracks that most definitely stand out. The album jumps off with Heart of Mine, a tune with just the right balance of energy before the soulfulness found in the next track cray z babe e. My personal favorite from the first disk was Beautiful Girl. This track has the perfect amount of pep that you could find yourself dancing to in your kitchen or putting it in the background for a long drive. Heaven Angel also separates itself from the rest of the disk. As it was released as a single before the album, many listeners including myself grew to like this song weeks ago. After a relatively slow song, the funky bass intro lets you know with a punch what the rest of the song will give you. The first disc ends with When You Need a Man; with its synthy beat I feel like I am in the middle of a coming-of-age movie set in the mid 80s.
The transition into the second disk of the album feels like the only abrupt crossover between songs. The Plz don’t come around interlude showcases soulful lyrics with a soft piano backtrack. This nicely blends into the next track, OMG Plz Don’t Come Around, which I would have really enjoyed if the valley-girl background ad libs were not present. Though this disc did not disappoint, I was surprised to see it contain several pre-released singles, some of which date all the way back to 2019. However A Kiss and Forever Always still sound impressive while also matching the groovy vibes of the rest of the album. My favorite track from this disk is flashdrive; its heavy synth-driven beat is the perfect track for when you need to zone out or vegetate on your couch after a long day.
Overall, I really enjoyed The Driver Era’s new album Girlfriend. Anyone listening can tell the amount of effort and attention to detail the singers and producers put into making this cohesive album. Even the arrangement and order of songs in the album itself allow the tracks to seamless flow from one into the next. Even with every track having the distinct Driver Era feel, no two songs sounded the same. Girlfriend is the perfect album to help you reminisce of summer and is a very enjoyable listening experience.