In recent times, Los Angeles’ Warner Drive have been a success story for independence in the music industry. Going it alone, their debut album turned a few heads, earning them prestigious support slots with some of the touring circuit’s leading acts. Now inked to Cyber Tracks, they can no longer be presented as the underdog case study, and their new album, City of Angels, must step up to survive amongst the others also not going it alone.
Opening tracks ‘Rising From the Fallen‘ and ‘The City of Angels‘ fall under American Rock in every sense of the term. A recipe of crisp, slightly distorted riffs, solid but simplistic drumming, Hetfield-inspired vocals, and an overemphasis on rhyming lyricism make up the backbone of the songs, but with that many standard ingredients, it’s a challenge to come up with anything else. Sadly, Warner Drive don’t really manage it. ‘Boys N’ Girls‘ then ticks the sappy, love anthem box, and just feels like City of Angels is an album content with merely fitting in with the crowds.
They do divert away from the Classic Rock constraints on ‘King of Swing‘, adding in some vibrate, much-needed Punk essence to the Nickelback foundations. The track sheds light on what NOFX‘s Aaron Abeyta must be yearning to unlock in them, but it’s short-lived as only ‘Fully Loaded‘ touches on it again.
City of Angels offers an abundance of solid and standard Rock, but Warner Drive rarely take it further. With independence came freedom, and a fearless approach to go for it, but now, City of Angels feels almost starstruck on the red carpet. There is plenty of talent still to unearth, though, and the glimpses are already there, but they won’t show it by just attending the party.
