2nd Place Driver‘s 2nd EP continues in the same tradition the predecessor started. A mix of alternative pop/rock, industrial and progressive rock. Leave & Life in the Docks being the more pop/rock songs, Sulphur being the progressive song, Wonderful & Bigman being the industrial tracks and Work This Out & Cracks as a nice mix. A good follow up.
Song by song review
Leave
Leave is a promising pop song with a addicting melody. The catchy hooks and the sentiment in this song are natural. The sweeping guitar and the tight drums make this song candidate to be a national hit song. With terrific lyrics such as: ”It sickens me and leaves me numb/Electric avalanche/No words to my defense/As she moves so silently.” The catchy chorus has a memorable audio sample and the whole thing just seems to be written to be a single. In one word: addictive!
Work This Out
Starting off with an excellent intro, Work This Out is a terrific mix of industrial and electronica. The guitar hooks are convincing and entertaining. The synth samples are well-produced and the rhythm section of the band ties it up nicely. And Rias’ vocals are breath-taking in the chorus. ”It’s you/Always you/Leaves me up all night/Yes it’s you/Oh it’s you.”
Bigman
Bigman is an energetic, mainly industrial song. First thing you notice is how tight the drums are. Then when the guitar effects are added to the song and Rias’ starts the screaming the song seems to take off but unfortunately it falls back into the earlier loop. The song switches between the up-tempo rhythm and the screaming parts but never really takes off. Too repetitive.
Cracks
Cracks might well be the best song on this EP. It’s a ‘softer’ song and the guitar, though electric, has a bit of an acoustic feel. Drums are laid-back and bass nicely fits in. Rias’ vocals come out really well and really sensitive. You get sucked into this song. It’s definitely not single material but it’s that album track every album has and the real fans will adore it. The genius samples and complex though interesting melodic lines make this a gem like no other.
Sulphur
Perhaps Sulphur could be used as a single. It’s catchy, has a mainstream feel but yet the song is extremely alternative and has that own sound 2nd Place Driver developed. Lots of sampling, industrial sound and a steady rock beat make this song pop into your head. Good lyrics too. It’s such a song that you need to hear one time and then it gets stuck in your head and every time you hear it you can sing along. Could do extremely well in live sets too I think.
Wonderful
PERFECT set opener. Sets the mood for every other song 2nd Place Driver has. Easy lyrics yet rather deep. Easy to sing along too. Starts of with computerized sounds and carries on with more of that. Then the vocals kick in and carry away the song to a higher level. Then when the instrumentals kick in and the song gets going all you think is: ”Ain’t it wonderful?/Just wonderful?”
Life In The Docks
Same idea as with Leave. Just written to be big. Amazing lyrics and crystal-clear vocals. Easy to connect to this song. Addictive, catchy melodic lines and again a bit of an acoustic feel to the song. It’s a promising pop/rock song but due to 2nd Place Driver’s own sound it has that weird yet familiar alternative feel. This song doesn’t need to grow on you, you’ll get hit by it right away. You’ll find this one in the charts when it gets released. I’m confident of that.
Song by song review
Leave
Leave is a promising pop song with a addicting melody. The catchy hooks and the sentiment in this song are natural. The sweeping guitar and the tight drums make this song candidate to be a national hit song. With terrific lyrics such as: ”It sickens me and leaves me numb/Electric avalanche/No words to my defense/As she moves so silently.” The catchy chorus has a memorable audio sample and the whole thing just seems to be written to be a single. In one word: addictive!
Work This Out
Starting off with an excellent intro, Work This Out is a terrific mix of industrial and electronica. The guitar hooks are convincing and entertaining. The synth samples are well-produced and the rhythm section of the band ties it up nicely. And Rias’ vocals are breath-taking in the chorus. ”It’s you/Always you/Leaves me up all night/Yes it’s you/Oh it’s you.”
Bigman
Bigman is an energetic, mainly industrial song. First thing you notice is how tight the drums are. Then when the guitar effects are added to the song and Rias’ starts the screaming the song seems to take off but unfortunately it falls back into the earlier loop. The song switches between the up-tempo rhythm and the screaming parts but never really takes off. Too repetitive.
Cracks
Cracks might well be the best song on this EP. It’s a ‘softer’ song and the guitar, though electric, has a bit of an acoustic feel. Drums are laid-back and bass nicely fits in. Rias’ vocals come out really well and really sensitive. You get sucked into this song. It’s definitely not single material but it’s that album track every album has and the real fans will adore it. The genius samples and complex though interesting melodic lines make this a gem like no other.
Sulphur
Perhaps Sulphur could be used as a single. It’s catchy, has a mainstream feel but yet the song is extremely alternative and has that own sound 2nd Place Driver developed. Lots of sampling, industrial sound and a steady rock beat make this song pop into your head. Good lyrics too. It’s such a song that you need to hear one time and then it gets stuck in your head and every time you hear it you can sing along. Could do extremely well in live sets too I think.
Wonderful
PERFECT set opener. Sets the mood for every other song 2nd Place Driver has. Easy lyrics yet rather deep. Easy to sing along too. Starts of with computerized sounds and carries on with more of that. Then the vocals kick in and carry away the song to a higher level. Then when the instrumentals kick in and the song gets going all you think is: ”Ain’t it wonderful?/Just wonderful?”
Life In The Docks
Same idea as with Leave. Just written to be big. Amazing lyrics and crystal-clear vocals. Easy to connect to this song. Addictive, catchy melodic lines and again a bit of an acoustic feel to the song. It’s a promising pop/rock song but due to 2nd Place Driver’s own sound it has that weird yet familiar alternative feel. This song doesn’t need to grow on you, you’ll get hit by it right away. You’ll find this one in the charts when it gets released. I’m confident of that.