The English four-piece
Grand Drive takes note from its
alt-country counterparts (
Wilco,
Whiskeytown) and derives a sun-soaked
Americana sound all its own on the band's self-titled U.S. debut.
Grand Drive, which marks the quartet's first stateside release, collects 13 tracks from the group's three previous albums --
Road Music (1999),
True Love and High Adventure (2000), and
See the Morning In (2002) -- originally issued on
BMG in the U.K., highlighting a lilting mix of
soul,
folk, and
country. Brothers
Danny and
Julian Wilson are a solid musical pair; as songwriters, they're quick-witted and smart, and as musicians, they're exact and simple in shaping up classic bits of
rock & roll. From the
blue-eyed soul of
"Needle in the Groove" to the honeyed acoustics of
"Firefly," Grand Drive composes an honest, laid-back sound. Fiddles shyly chime throughout the bittersweet
"A Little Like You," while
"Sleepy" captures slow dancin' with classic '60s
soul-
pop.
Grand Drive makes its biggest
rock effort yet on
"Tell It Like It Is." Like the majority of the album, its piano-driven, feel-good classic
rock sound glows with a passion similar to
Bruce Springsteen and
Neil Young. The members of
Grand Drive are earnest and pure with their craft, honing what's musically tried and true to them as a band. In the process, they recorded a pleasurable set of songs. Not bad for a bunch of Australian boys raised in London. ~ MacKenzie Wilson
![Southeastern [10th Anniversary Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0691835756226_p0_v1_s90x140.jpg "Southeastern [10th Anniversary Edition]")
![Yankee Hotel Foxtrot [Expanded Edition]](http://prodimage.images-bn.com/pimages/0075597910629_p0_v2_s90x140.jpg "Yankee Hotel Foxtrot [Expanded Edition]")
