So you’re looking for something deep and emotional. Well we are sorry you have come to the wrong place. The new The Drills E.P – ‘Kick Your Ass In 19 Minutes’ does exactly what it promises. This is the new band from Phil-X, one half of the “turbo-pop” band Powder and session guitarist extraordinaire (he has played with such varied bands as Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper and Tommy Lee to Avril Lavigne and Kelly Clarkson).
This is not music that is designed to be taken seriously. The opening track ‘Air Hockey Champion of the World’ is a masterful blast of catchy guitar riffs with a sing-a-long chorus. If you have heard Powder this is familiar territory. It will have you dancing, head-banging, air-guitaring and throwing your fists in the air, all in well under three minutes…nifty.
Unfortunately though, both ‘Beautiful Apartment’ and ‘Sunny Days’ fall into the trap of sounding a bit too pop for a rock band. That isn’t to say you should be expecting Britney Spears or Lady Gaga, I mean it’s not often you hear them singing, “Pound for pound, my bitch crazy” followed by a solo. What you do find though, is that their choruses sound like the commercially successful “alternative” acts of the early 00s. These are songs designed for a summer driving around with friends having a massive sing-along…or simulating that feeling, since we are now approaching winter.
Starting with a banjo-led intro, ‘I Wish My Beer Was As Cold As Your Heart’ will put a smile on your face from the first note. It sounds like a fun country song, until a nuclear blast made from X‘s throat-destroying scream and a thundering 80s-styled guitar riff designed to rip your face off. Everything about this song makes you want to slide across the dancefloor.
Imagine if The Offspring and Greenday (at the catchiest peaks of their respective careers) had a crazy love child, fed it on the best drugs Los Angeles has to offer, then sent it back to the 80s in a pimped out DeLorean to be brought up by Motley Crue. That will give you some idea of The Drills’ sound – this is pure mindless fun. Nothing here is ground-breaking, but it is perfectly executed. It feels like every song instantly pulls you in, then hands you a bottle of beer. The music is fast, and needs to be played loud. If you can disengage your brain, you’re sure to love them too.
For more information visit the official MySpace.
