Reviews

On this debut EP, Canada's Driving on City Sidewalks try to show every facet of their ability. The opening cut, "To Finish the Race," comes off sounding a bit like the Deftones meet dredg, with some really nice vocal work from Darryl Silvestri. With its swirling, melodious sound, it's one of the most interesting songs of the year and definitely a hell of a way to kick off their career. The title track begins in much the same way but it doesn't have the overall power of "To Finish the Race." The drums courtesy of Barry Mielke are harder here but it takes away from the sound, which should come across as quiet and lovely. The female backing vocals make it sound a bit too much like Straylight Run but it's an admirable effort to branch out.

The acoustic lament of "Tear, Repair" sounds a bit out of place and it's kind of hard to determine where exactly this band wants to go with their sound. Maybe when their full-length comes out, they'll have gathered a better idea of where they want things to head.

The final two songs are both instrumentals, one almost ten minutes long. The first sounds a bit like My Bloody Valentine meets mid-80's R.E.M. While it's an interesting concept, it would just end up sounding better with some more amazing vocals thrown over top.

The final instrumental is a bit heavier but it just ends up back where it started, which is frustrating for a listener hoping for a twist every now and then. Overall, this band is trying something new and at first, it really succeeds for them but towards the end, it appears they didn't want to give the audience too much of a good thing so they threw on the double instrumentals. Better luck with the full-length.