Driving East - The Future of the Free World is riding on this One

HinweiseGenre : Rock
Country : USA
Year : 2008

It seems that The Militia Group has gone back to the formula that made them quite a formidable indie label in 2005, when they had a handful of hit releases and eventual upstreams. Driving East, the label's newest pop-punk signing, evokes the raw fiery passion of Cartel's The Ransom EP and even to a lesser degree, Chroma. With The Future of the Free World Is Riding On This One, Driving East's TMG full-length debut, the band takes no prisoners and has released an insanely poppy, catchy album that will have purists and neophytes alike singing along.

Barrett Mullins' vocals come off as refreshingly crisp and vibrant, and the rest of the band packs one hell of a punch behind him. The drums on the album opener, “Hey,” offer a thick kick-highlighted sound that will surely bat the infectious chorus around in your head for days. If the first song brings you a healthy dose of summer, then the second track, “Get Back,” might qualify for catchiest song of the year by the time December comes around. “Come On Come On” is by far one of the songs most reminiscent of The Ransom EP, particular in the guitar parts, and Mullins' voice is eerily similar to Cartel's Will Pugh. Regardless, it's a blistering whirlwind of energy exploding from your speakers that will put anyone in a good mood.

“Sing While You Can” is a little more subdued of a track, but at times the vocals seem to bleed too far into the mix and they don't come off as strong as they should. “Baby (Just a Little Bit)” and “Backseat” are an interesting one-two punch. They're both not-so-subtle songs about sex, but they take a slight different approach. “Baby” is a bit more verse-heavy, while “Backseat” spends a lot of time on the chorus (a bit too much time, I would argue). The CD tails off toward the end, regrettably, considering the superb effort that we see from Driving East with the first seven tracks. “Blue Eyes” does do a good job straying from the crunchy riffs that highlighted most of the songs before it, but “Away” certainly seems to be missing something major—it doesn't feel natural at all. An interesting point to note is that The Future... doesn't have a true slow ballad anywhere in its ten tracks and thirty-one-plus minutes, although the band seems to do just fine without one.

While The Future of the Free World Is Riding On This One is a vastly entertaining pop-punk CD loaded with energy and captivating tunes, it's a bit short on originality. However, they manage to turn that into a strength as Driving East shows anyone willing to listen that they can pull it off just as well as (and sometimes better than) many of the bigger bands. You'll be surprised by the band's high level of musical talent, and the production team of Zach Odom and Kenneth Mount has done a fantastic job helping them release a memorable debut. If this keeps up, Driving East will be leading the charge as the first of many quality releases from The Militia Group in 2008.