One thing you might have learned about me over the years is that I’m slow, almost painfully so. I really despise the fact that it sometimes takes me months to write about an album or an artist that has caught my ear. But, it it is what it is I guess. All that being said, if you send me something and it moves me, I’ll eventually get around to writing a little something about it. And that is certainly the case with Driving Music’s five song solo demo EP. The personal letter attached is dated March 31st, 2008 so I assume that I got this slice of ear candy sometime in April.

Driving Music is the solo project of Brazilian musician, Fábio Andrade. Oddly enough, Andrade’s vocals remind me a great deal of Nikola Sarcevic from the Swedish band, Millencolin. Perhaps English being their second language provides that comparison rather easily. But, there is much more to it than just vocals. Millencolin’s brand of power pop/punk is true to what Driving Music are going for. These songs lay somewhere between ultra pop-punk and power pop. Bands like Samiam, Sugar and The Lemonheads are all bantered around in the bio and for good reason. But, Andrade and Driving Music are able to establish a playful sensibility and undeniable energy all their own.

Andrade seems to almost brush aside the strength of his own songwriting by saying these are “songs that are happy to be just songs.” But therein lies the romanticism and optimism of it all. Driving Music is a beautiful and relevant term for what Andrade is doing here. These songs float by much like the scenery of the open road.

Genre: Power Pop

RIYL: Millencolin, Samiam, Sugar

Label: (Self-Released)

Epigraph

02%20Epigraph.mp3

www.myspace.com/drvmusic